Trade-in website Tootle closes down
11 August 2019
Online car sales and buying platform Tootle has stopped trading and its owner Online Auto Sales is understood to be on the verge of administration.
Launched in 2016 as a rival to sites such as We Buy Any Car, Tootle allowed retailers to bid directly for privately owned cars from people looking to sell. Tootle launched with TV advertising thanks to a deal with Channel 4 that saw the broadcaster’s funding arm invest in the business.
While the firm’s chief executive Gordon Tulloch told Auto Retail Agenda Tootle is not in administration, one of the firm’s non-executive directors confirmed that it had ceased trading and that administrators were in the process of being appointed.
UPDATE, 15 August 2019: ReSolve has been appointed administrator to Online Auto Sales trading as Tootle. ReSolve is currently seeking to establish whether there is any interest in the company’s business and/or assets.
UPDATE, 26 May 2021: Tootle is back having been bought out of administration by Citnow. The company claims Tootle’s aim is “to simplify the part exchange process for retailers and customers, streamlining the sales process and helping to improve the customer experience”.