Early proptech success story Zoopla is moving into the home energy deals market with the buyout of uSwitch for £160m.
Zoopla, which was founded in 2007, had a successful IPO in June last year and was valued just shy of £1bn at £919m.
The company is 52% owned by Daily Mail and General Trust, while CEO and founder of Zoopla Alex Chesterman, who still owns an 8% stake in the business, has also become and VC, investing in sites including Uniplaces and SportPursuit.
Zoopla was joined late in December by a new competitor, On The Market, founded by a number of large estate agents, as well as competing with RightMove for control of the property portal market.
“With the plans we have to develop our combined services, consumers will have a single resource for all their property needs and this enhanced engagement with our users will create a unique advantage for our advertisers,” Chesterman said.
Darren Redmayne, UK CEO and MD of Lincoln International, the investment bank that advised uSwitch on the sale, told Tech City News: “The Zoopla and uSwitch transaction shows how fast-growth property technology companies need to think about how they can broaden their services and deepen the user experience and their consumer relationship.
“Here home-movers will have access to the number 1 price comparison website for the home services sector, including both energy and communications.”