Sponsorship: financial difficulty for Cazoo (e-commerce), main shirt sponsor of 7 clubs in Europe

Cazoo Group, a British used car sales platform, posted a loss of £243m (€281.6m) in the first half of 2022 (from 01/01 to 30/06/2022), compared to £100m (€116.3m) over the same period in 2021, announced the group on 02/08/2022.

The financial situation of the group created in 2018 is of concern to its founder and CEO Alex Chesterman, who is considering "a strategic review" by withdrawing from certain markets in mainland Europe in order to reduce its losses. Cazoo has already presented a redundancy plan for 750 employees on 06/06/2022. The British company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since March 2021 has posted £550m (€655m) in losses in 2021, compared to £103m (€113.8m) in 2020.

Between May 2021 and June 2022, Cazoo has opened offices in Germany, Spain, Italy and France. This strategic expansion was accompanied by an aggressive sponsorship strategy, with nearly 20 sports partnerships signed between 2020 and 2022, including agreements with Aston Villa FC and Everton FC (Premier League).

Besides Aston Villa, Cazoo is the main shirt sponsor of six European Top 5 clubs in…