Alex Chesterman

Alexander Edward Chesterman OBE (born 9 January 1970) is a British internet entrepreneur. He was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013[1] and in 2017 named on Debrett's 500.[2] He is the founder of online film distributer LoveFilm and is the founder and CEO of online used car platform Cazoo[3] - which is aimed at transforming the used car market in the UK.[4] The Telegraph Tech Hot 100 in 2020 estimated his net worth at £360 million.[5]

In December 2018 Chesterman raised over £30m in pre-seed funding [6] and then went on to raise a further round of £50m pre launch for Cazoo.[7] He launched the business in December 2019. In March 2020 he then went on to raise a further £100m for Cazoo.[8][9] He is also the founder of the property website Zoopla in 2007. Zoopla became digital media business ZPG Plc (LSE:ZPG)[10] 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.[11]

Early life

Chesterman has a bachelor of science degree in Economics from University College London.[12]

Career

Chesterman served as the executive vice president of Planet Hollywood until 1998.[12] He founded ScreenSelect (later LoveFilm) which was subsequently sold to Amazon for £200 million.[13][14][15] In 2007, he founded Zoopla, a property website.[12] In June 2014 he floated Zoopla, which has been renamed and become ZPG, on the London Stock Exchange for nearly £1bn.[16] In 2018 ZPG was sold to US private equity group Silver Lake for £2.2bn.[17] He served as chief executive officer until the end of September 2018 when he stepped down but remains on the Board.[18] In December 2018 Chesterman announced a funding round of over £30m for his next venture, Cazoo, aimed at transforming the used car market.[19] He has now raised a total of £180m for Cazoo[20]

He is also regarded as one of the UK's most active tech angel investors[21] and mentors. 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.[22]

Political activity

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.[23] He donated £300,000 to the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 United Kingdom general election.[24]

References
  1. "ZPG Founder & CEO: Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 | Property Portal Watch". Property Portal Watch. 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  2. "Debrett's 500 List: Entrepreneurs". The Telegraph. 2017. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  3. "The tech tycoon turned used car salesman on his final excursion". Evening Standard. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  4. Banks, Harry (2018-12-02). "Zoopla founder drives away with £30m in funding for used car startup". www.cityam.com. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  5. "Telegraph Tech Hot 100: The full 2020 list revealed". The Telegraph. 2020-10-28. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  6. "Cazoo secures £30 million Pre-Seed investment led by DMG Ventures". www.am-online.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  7. "Cazoo launches online used car retail platform with £80m backing". www.am-online.com. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  8. "Online car seller Cazoo raises £100m despite virus turmoil". Sky News. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  9. "Cazoo, the used-car sales portal, raises another $116M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  10. "Our Brands". www.zpg.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  11. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-12-30. Cite uses generic title (help)
  12. "Company Overview of ZPG Plc: Alex Chesterman OBE". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  13. "Zoopla chief executive Alex Chesterman in line for £19m bonus - Business News - Business". The Independent. 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  14. Press Association (1970-01-01). "Zoopla founder cements agreement with new pay deal | Business". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  15. "Alex Chesterman cashes in with £2.2bn ZPG sale". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  16. "London Stock Exchange welcomes Zoopla Property Group Main Market IPO". London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  17. "Silver Lake Agrees to Buy Property Portal ZPG for $3 Billion". Bloomberg.
  18. "Zoopla confirms restructure as number of key seniors depart in wake of takeover". Property Industry Eye. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  19. insider.co.uk (2018-12-02). "Zoopla founder raises £30m for new car website venture Cazoo". businessInsider. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  20. "Cazoo raises a further £100m to boost online car retail ambitions". www.am-online.com. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  21. "The coolest tech investors in the UK". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  22. Quinn, James (2016-06-10). "City financiers knighted among business leaders recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  23. Morrison, Caitlin (July 4, 2016). "Boss of property website Zoopla revealed to be behind Brexit legal action bid". City A.M. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  24. "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
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