Whizzgo

Deal Summary

Catalyst advised the shareholders of Whizzgo on its sale to City Car Club.

WhizzGo is a car club providing pay-by-the-hour cars in 12 cities across the united kingdom.

Charging one flat fee which includes insurance, tax, fuel, maintenance and the congestion charge in London, WhizzGo enables customers to buy the use of a car by the hour. The concept has rapidly gained market share, particularly amongst younger, city professionals in major cities across the UK, and Whizzgo has won many industry awards for its customer service and eco-policies making it one of the leading operators of its type in the country.

What difference did we make?

Catalyst was appointed by the two main shareholders of Whizzgo in early 2008 when it became apparent that a funding injection, whether from a financial or trade investor, was required to continue Whizzgo's fast growth.

We worked with the shareholders to analyse the market, understand the trends in the car club market around the world, and position the business to investors as an attractive asset and brand in its market.

In early 2009 the shareholders decided to accelerate their exit process, and following this we worked alongside them until August 2009 when a deal to merge with the larger City Car Club was completed.

The major issue we solved with this deal was not just negotiating the tough external financing market due to the credit crunch, but in particular trying to anticipate the strategies of an acquiror pool whose market (car production, fleet hire and financing) was under enormous strain and changing constantly.