Three hundred jobs could be at risk at Cazoo site in Long Bennington

Three hundred jobs are reported to be at risk at an online car retailer.

The Cazoo preparation centre, based at the Roseland Business Park in Long Bennington, is reported to be in danger of closing down.

The Journal understands that staff were told on Wednesday that the car retailer was proposing to shut down the site.

A spokesperson for Cazoo said: "We have not made any decisions at this point however yesterday we have announced that we will be starting a consultation process with the team at Long Bennington."

The company also announced this week its founder and executive chairman Alex Chesterman would be stepping down as chief executive of the business.

This is after it was revealed the company experienced a 97 per cent drop in value.

It is reported that up to 15 of Cazoo’s customer hand over centres are scheduled to close if proposals go ahead.

The number of Cazoo preparation centres could also be reduced to three.

Cazoo acquired four preparation sites when it bought Smart Fleet Solutions in February 2021. It added another six when it bought SMH Fleet Solutions in September that year for £70m.

Mr Chesterman founded Cazoo in 2018. He is due to be replaced by COO Paul Whitehead while Chesterman will become full-time executive chairman.