Zoopla profits rise a third ahead of takeover
Reuters
Published May 23, 2018 08:09
Zoopla profits rise a third ahead of takeover
By Costas Pitas
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ZPG, which runs property website Zoopla and is being bought by U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake for 2.2 billion pounds, posted a 33 percent rise in first-half profit as listings grew on its platforms.
Silver Lake said this month it was buying the real estate portal, which also operates site PrimeLocation and comparison service uSwitch, with the deal set to complete in the third quarter of 2018 subject to shareholder approval.
"We are excited about the prospect of working with Silver Lake and the opportunity this offers to our employees, consumers and partners as we move to the next stage of ZPG's development and growth," said founder and CEO Alex Chesterman.
Chesterman, who launched the Zoopla website in 2008, said he would remain with the business after Silver Lake's 4.90 pound per share cash buyout which will be discussed at a shareholder meeting due to be held on June 18.
Profit rose 33 percent to 22.4 million pounds in the six months to the end of March while revenue also rose by a third to 157 million pounds.
Listings increased by 6 percent to 982,000 whilst the number of estate agents on its sites rose by 7 percent to 15,264 branches, as the site continues to win back partners from rival OnTheMarket , which had taken some of Zoopla's business in the past.
Chesterman said since OnTheMarket earlier this year dropped its "one other portal rule", which meant that many estate agents listed on Rightmove and either Zoopla or OnTheMarket, the number of agents joining ZPG had risen significantly.
"We've been winning back agents over the last three months at twice the rate of the three months prior to that and four times the rate of the same three months last year," he said.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.