Following the news that Cazoo is closing its European operations at the cost of 750 jobs;

Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“While the brand is focused on the UK market, Cazoo had planned to support its European expansion and build brand equity through sports sponsorships. These included deals with a number of soccer clubs across Europe with the company committing over $82 million annually to these sports partnerships.

“However, as a result of the closures, many of its deals in its home market may be at risk now, including the front of shirt sponsorship with Aston Villa, the title sponsorship of The Hundred, and the PDC Darts World Championship, collectively estimated to be worth over $13 million annually. The company was one of the top 20 spending brands in terms of sports sponsorship deals through H1 2022 and was seen as a ‘white knight’ for the sponsorship sector still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While these deals are typically short term, this will naturally lead to nervousness across the sponsorship market with many team and event finances at risk.”