Transaction Capital announced that it has bought a non-controlling 49.9% stake in WeBuyCars for R1.8 billion, which values the car retailer at R3.69 billion.
WeBuyCars was founded by brothers Faan and Dirk van der Walt in 2001 in Pretoria.
The brothers built their first vehicle supermarket in Pretoria in 2010 which could house 100 cars.
Over the next few years, they expanded their marketing and reach, with buyers appointed in Gauteng and Cape Town.
In 2015 WeBuyCars started using digital marketing campaigns and increased the capacity and of its vehicle supermarket to 700 cars.
Over the next 5 years the company showed rapid growth and opened new vehicle supermarkets in Cape Town, Durban, Midstream, and Johannesburg.
Today WeBuyCars is a household name with a range of services, including financing, insurance, tracking, and online auctions.
The company has a presence in all nine provinces and the WeBuyCars website attracts 814,000 unique visitors per month.
WeBuyCars finances
Over the last financial year WeBuyCars sold 65,510 cars and generated R6.7 billion in revenue – up from 50,700 cars sold and R5.2 billion revenue the year before.
Over the last year the company made R341 million profit – up from R258 million the year before.
This growth is mostly driven by increased sales, with the total profit after tax per vehicle sold fairly consistent at around R5,200.
The images below provide an overview of the WeBuyCars journey over the last two decades and a look at its latest financial information.
WeBuyCars Journey
WeBuyCars Growth
WeBuyCars Finances
