Business brief | Transaction Capital flags WeBuyCars pickup, and Uber's R3.3bn settlement down under

In a busy day for corporate news in SA, Transaction Capital flagged growth in soon-to-be-listed WeBuyCars, while Discovery seemingly disappointed with its trading update. In international news, Uber has reached a hefty settlement with taxi drivers in Australia.

Transaction Capital said its subsidiary WeBuyCars, which plans to list separately on the JSE on 11 April, grew its core earnings by 25% to R333 million in the five months to end-February 2023, up from R266 million in the corresponding period the prior year. Vehicles sold picked up 13%, with the group saying positive momentum continued into March. WeBuyCars had net debt of R1.15 billion, consisting primarily of R733 million in mortgage loans on several vehicle supermarkets, and working capital facilities of R421 million to fund inventory. The group was down about 3.5% on Monday but has risen about 28% so far this year.