LeasePlan’s CarNext.com digital pan-European used-car marketplace has appointed Andrew Hooks to run the business in the UK.

Andrew Hooks, UK managing director at CarNext.com

Hooks was previously chief operations officer at Carwow, where he was responsible for UK operations and developing the dealer proposition. Most recently, he oversaw Carwow’s expansion into new markets, including Germany and Spain.

His background also includes seven years at eBay where he grew the digital used-car marketplace.

Ewout van Jarwaarde, CEO of CarNext.com, commented: “Drivers in the UK deserve a used car marketplace they can trust. That’s why we built CarNext.com. We want to fundamentally disrupt the used car market and make the experience of buying, leasing or financing a used car a great experience for every customer. The UK is an exciting market for CarNext.com and we’ve seen that customers are responding positively to what we are doing. It’s great to welcome Andrew to the team and work with him on reaching even more UK customers. He has a great track record and his experience will be a real asset in achieving our ambition of becoming the most trusted marketplace for used cars.”

Andrew Hooks added: “I’m excited to join CarNext.com and further develop the marketplace for UK consumers. I’m already impressed by how CarNext.com has accelerated and I look forward to taking the UK business to the next level.”

Hooks joins CarNext.com just weeks after the business appointed Maarten van Neerven as chief financial officer and as LeasePlan continues to review various strategic alternatives for CarNext.com, as well as continuing to invest in the business to accelerate its growth. Second quarter figures show B2C volumes were up 35% in Q2 to 15,700 vehicles, retail sales up by 56% and run-rate B2C sales penetration at 23%, while the number of delivery stores also continued to increase.