ZPG to buy Money.co.uk for up to £140m

Zoopla owner ZPG has agreed to buy financial services comparison website Money.co.uk in deal worth up to £140m.

The FTSE 250 company, which also owns uSwitch and Primelocation, will pay £80m on a cash-free, debt-free basis, plus a performance-based earn-out of up to £60m.

Established in 2008, Money allows consumers to compare thousands of deals from over 600 providers across more than 60 product categories including mortgages, loans, credit cards, bank accounts and insurance. It attracts more than 2 million visits per month to its website.

In the year to the end of October 2016, Money generated revenues of £24.7m with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £8m.

ZPG chief executive and founder Alex Chesterman said: “We are delighted to announce this transaction. Adding Money, one of the UK's leading financial services comparison websites, to our existing brand portfolio will further enhance our product capabilities and consumer engagement across both our comparison and property platforms. Broadening our financial services offering has long been a key part of our strategy and I look forward to welcoming Chris and his team to the ZPG family."

The deal, which will be financed through a combination of existing cash resources and a £50m extension to ZPG’s current credit facilities, is expected to be earnings-enhancing on an adjusted basis in the first full year.

At 0812 BST, the shares were up 4.7% to 371.50p.