Automotive e-commerce platform developer Cazoo agreed yesterday to acquire Drover, a UK-based car subscription platform backed by television broadcaster Channel 4 and oil and gas suppliers Shell and BP, for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2016, Drover provides a monthly subscription service that allows users to rent cars over a period of one to 24 months. Its subscription fee also includes car maintenance, road tax and insurance coverage.
Cazoo is looking to leverage Drover’s expertise and contacts in the car subscription market. It was already looking to launch its own subscription service next year and will also use the company’s France-based operations to facilitate its expansion in Europe.
Shell Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Shell, provided $2.9m in October this year to close Drover’s series B round at $28.8m and bring its overall funding to $39.5m.
The company had secured $25.9m in a July 2020 first tranche backed by Channel 4 and BP, which took part through respective corporate venturing units Channel 4 Ventures and BP Ventures.
Autotech Ventures, RTP Global and Target Global co-led the July close, which also featured Rider Global, Cherry Ventures, Partech, Version One Ventures and Forward Partners.
Drover had already raised $7.7m in a series A round co-led by BP Ventures, Cherry Ventures and Partech in March 2018, after collecting roughly $3m in a Version One Ventures and Forward Partners-led pre-seed round.
Drover’s founder and CEO, Felix Leuschner, said: “I am very proud of what we have achieved with Drover in such short time. We have built a great team and developed a sizeable and loyal subscriber base with strong revenues.”