Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman is preparing to launch an online used car buying platform after raising £30 million to drive his new venture, Cazoo.

Chesterman, who has already invested in carwow and car comparison website Motorway, has said that Cazoo will deliver used cars to customers’ homes within 48 hours and offer a seven-day free returns policy.

His move into the UK’s automotive sector comes seven months after the £2.2bn takeover of the Zoopla's parent company, ZPG, by the US private equity firm Silver Lake, earned him an estimated £66.1m.

Back in May, Sky News reported that the US entrepreneur had received an estimated £27.5m when Zoopla floated on the stock market in June 2014.

He sold a further £11m worth of shares in August the following year and raised another £13.8m when he further reduced his shareholding in September 2016, it said.

While his shareholding in the ZPG business was estimated at £22m his share options were expected to take his total return from the sale to £61m.

The UK's used car market is estimated to be worth over £50 billion annually, with more than eight million used cars sold in 2017 alone.

Commenting on his new venture, Cazoo, which is expected to be launched in the UK next summer, Chesterman told The Times newspaper: “It is one of the biggest retail spaces in which you can’t transact online in this country.

“Why should buying a car be different from buying anything else?”

Chesterman stepped down from his position as chief executive of ZPG in September but remains a board member, shareholder and advisor.

In addition to Zoopla, uSwitch, PrimeLocation and Hometrack operate under the ZPG umbrella.