New success story in the Barcelona entrepreneurial ecosystem. The British company Cazoo, which has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since the end of August, has acquired the Barcelona-based car rental and subscription car company Swipcar. The operation is valued at 30 million euros and, according to Cazoo, will be paid through a combination of cash and share exchange.
Headquartered on Llacuna Street, in the 22@ district, Swipcar was founded in 2018 by Julio Ribes ---who had previously worked at Ford and Seat---, Pablo Pascual and Blas Gil. They saw the opportunity to apply to the automotive industry a trend that is becoming widespread in more and more sectors, servitization or pay-per-use, that is, converting what was previously an act of purchase into a service. Their idea was to bet on a model that is not based on the sale of cars, but on a mobility service. Thus, they created Swipcar, a vehicle marketplace where the user can rent a car for months in exchange for a fixed fee that includes all maintenance costs, taxes and also insurance. The company works with more than 30 car brands and thanks to digitalization allows all procedures to be very fast and simple for the user.
Swipcar grew by 160% in 2020 and for this year its forecast was to double its business volume again. A few months ago, Ribes, who is the CEO of the company, claimed to be growing at a rate of 500 cars per month, with the forecast of closing 2021 with 6,000 cars rented. This increase in the number of users has also substantially increased the company's workforce in Barcelona, which has more than doubled in the midst of the pandemic, going from 40 to nearly one hundred current employees. The new hires are also a consequence of Swipcar's international growth process, which has recently launched its service in Italy and Portugal.
In September 2021, Swipcar closed its third investment round, for 1.5 million euros, led by Inveready. The fund then highlighted that "Swipcar is an example of execution, growth and market leadership with a capital efficiency strategy."
For Cazoo, Swipcar is the great opportunity to accelerate its growth plans in Europe and position itself in key markets such as Spain, Italy, and Portugal. "Swipcar has created a leading car subscription marketplace in the Spanish market and adds hundreds of new customers every month. This agreement will allow us to accelerate our launch plans in Spain and Italy, offering consumers the option to buy, sell, finance, or subscribe to a car completely online. I look forward to welcoming Julio and his team to Cazoo and working with them to provide the best experience for consumers looking for their next car in Europe," said Alex Chesterman, serial entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Cazoo.
Like Swipcar, Cazoo was also born in 2018 with the aim of transforming the vehicle buying and selling market in the United Kingdom and on the European continent. According to the firm, in just two years it has managed to sell 40,000 cars online, becoming one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe and the main player in the car subscription business. With Swipcar, it reinforces this positioning, but also acquires a platform in Southern Europe that will also allow it to launch its online car sales business in Spain and Italy in 2022.
"I am very proud of the platform and the team we have built at Swipcar. We have developed strong partnerships with thousands of loyal customers and key industry players. Cazoo has a clear vision and strategy that are fully aligned with ours, and we look forward to joining forces and accelerating the launch of Cazoo and the digital transformation of the car buying, selling, and subscription experience in Spain and across Europe," highlighted Julio Ribes.
Cazoo founder, Alex Chesterman, is a British entrepreneur known for having sold the company LoveFilm to Amazon ---which laid the groundwork for creating the Amazon Prime Video service--- for 200 million pounds. In addition, he founded the real estate portal Zoopla, which was acquired by the investment group Silver Lake for almost 3 billion dollars in 2018. In 2013, he was chosen entrepreneur of the year by the consulting firm EY, and his merits have allowed him to be recognized as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, OBE.
Cazoo went public this summer by merging with a type of investment vehicle called a spac that allows for a quick listing. This is the same system recently used by the Catalan company Wallbox, which also debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. The operation allowed Cazoo to raise one billion dollars in financing, and its current market capitalization is close to 7 billion dollars.