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Alex Chesterman

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Alexander Edward Chesterman

Alexander Edward Chesterman OBE (born 9 January 1970)[1] is a British Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of ScreenSelect, which later became part of online film distributor LoveFilm, and is the founder and former CEO of online used car platform Cazoo.[2]

In December 2018 Chesterman raised over £30m in pre-seed funding [3] and then went on to raise a further round of £50m pre-launch for Cazoo.[4] He launched the business in December 2019. In March 2020 he then went on to raise a further £100m for Cazoo.[5][6] Chesterman stepped down as CEO of Cazoo in December 2023. He was also the founder of the property website Zoopla in 2007. Zoopla became a digital media business ZPG Plc (LSE:ZPG)[7] a FTSE-250 listed company and owns brands which include Zoopla, uSwitch, PrimeLocation, Money and Hometrack and employs over 1,000 people in the UK. In July 2018 ZPG Plc was bought by US private equity business SilverLake Partners for £2.2bn and delisted from the FTSE 250.[8]

Personal life

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Chesterman attended St Paul's School, London and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from University College London.[1][9] He is married and has two sons.[1]

Career

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Chesterman served as the executive vice president of Planet Hollywood until 1998.[9] He founded ScreenSelect (later LoveFilm) which was subsequently sold to Amazon for £200 million.[10][11][12]

In 2007, he founded Zoopla, a property website.[9] In June 2014 he floated Zoopla, which has been renamed and become ZPG, on the London Stock Exchange for nearly £1bn.[13] In 2018 ZPG was sold to US private equity group Silver Lake for £2.2bn.[14] He served as chief executive officer until the end of September 2018 when he stepped down but remains on the Board.[15]

In December 2018, Chesterman announced a funding round of over £30m for his next venture, Cazoo, aimed at transforming the used car market.[16] He has now raised a total of £180m for Cazoo.[17]

He is also regarded as one of the UK's most active tech angel investors and mentors.[18] He has backed early stage digital startups, including Farewill, Graze, Secret Escapes, SportPursuit, UniPlaces, CarWow, Swoon, and Farmdrop and was awarded an OBE for services to digital entrepreneurship in 2016.[19]

He was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013[20] and in 2017 named on Debrett's 500.[21]

In 2021, his net worth was estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List as £750 million.[22]

In 2021, Chesterman led investment rounds in checking and digital onboarding platform Thirdfort and DIY and refurbishment platform Lick.[23][24]

Chesterman stepped aside as Cazoo's chief executive in January 2023 and left the company the following December. Five months later, in May 2024, Cazoo collapsed into administration.[25]

Political activity

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In July 2016, Chesterman was said to be behind a legal challenge to stop Brexit should the British government not allow Parliament to vote on the deal.[26] He donated £300,000 to the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 United Kingdom general election.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kelly, Liam (22 September 2019). "Interview: Cazoo's Alex Chesterman". The Sunday Times.
  2. ^ "The tech tycoon turned used car salesman on his final excursion". Evening Standard. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Cazoo secures £30 million Pre-Seed investment led by DMG Ventures". www.am-online.com. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Cazoo launches online used car retail platform with £80m backing". www.am-online.com. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Online car seller Cazoo raises £100m despite virus turmoil". Sky News. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Cazoo, the used-car sales portal, raises another $116M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Our Brands". www.zpg.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ Pooley, Cat Rutter; Williams, Aime (11 May 2018). "US tech fund to buy UK property website Zoopla owner for £2.2bn". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Company Overview of ZPG Plc: Alex Chesterman OBE". Bloomberg. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Zoopla chief executive Alex Chesterman in line for £19m bonus - Business News - Business". The Independent. 19 March 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  11. ^ Press Association (12 August 2015). "Zoopla founder cements agreement with new pay deal | Business". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Alex Chesterman cashes in with £2.2bn ZPG sale". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  13. ^ "London Stock Exchange welcomes Zoopla Property Group Main Market IPO". London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Silver Lake Agrees to Buy Property Portal ZPG for $3 Billion". Bloomberg. 11 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Zoopla confirms restructure as number of key seniors depart in wake of takeover". Property Industry Eye. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  16. ^ insider.co.uk (2 December 2018). "Zoopla founder raises £30m for new car website venture Cazoo". businessInsider. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  17. ^ "Cazoo raises a further £100m to boost online car retail ambitions". www.am-online.com. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  18. ^ "The coolest tech investors in the UK". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  19. ^ Quinn, James (10 June 2016). "City financiers knighted among business leaders recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  20. ^ "ZPG Founder & CEO: Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 | Property Portal Watch". Property Portal Watch. 1 July 2013. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Debrett's 500 List: Entrepreneurs". The Telegraph. 2017. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  22. ^ Times, The Sunday. "Alex Chesterman net worth — Sunday Times Rich List 2021". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Alex Chesterman is back with more cash to disrupt property sales". The Negotiator. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  24. ^ "Chesterman returns to property with latest start-up investment". The Negotiator. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  25. ^ Race, Michael (21 May 2024). "Online car retailer Cazoo enters administration". BBC News. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  26. ^ Morrison, Caitlin (4 July 2016). "Boss of property website Zoopla revealed to be behind Brexit legal action bid". City A.M. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  27. ^ "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
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