Zoopla completes integration of websites to create mega-portal
4th Nov 2009
Hot on the heels of having been named Best UK Property Portal 2009, Zoopla.co.uk has now successfully completed the integration of all of its websites onto a single, world-class technology platform, which will offer enhanced services to its users with more features for consumers and greater exposure and leads for its agent members.
As a result of combining the best features from each of the websites in its stable - PropertyFinder.com, HotProperty.co.uk and ThinkProperty.com - Zoopla.co.uk will now offer a range of new services to the millions of home movers who visit the website each month and a far broader audience for its thousands of estate agent members.
Agents will benefit from being able to upload to a single platform and automatically gain exposure to the enlarged audience of sites now powered by Zoopla.co.uk, including leading UK websites MSN, Yahoo, Virgin and Guardian. Consumers will now have access to a broader range of features via Zoopla.co.uk including overseas property listings, a flat share service and email alerts.
And all users will now have access to the proprietary features of Zoopla.co.uk including its unique valuation leads service and community tools that help consumers engage with agents directly to discover local information (AskMe Q&A).
Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla Limited, commented: "Following our acquisitions over the summer, it was important for us to consolidate onto a single brand and technology platform as quickly as possible in order to deliver the benefits to our users. We have taken the best-in-class features of all of our websites and combined these to deliver on our goal of offering consumers the UK's best property market resource and our agent members the most efficient source of applicant leads, valuation leads, exposure and tools to help them win more business."
Zoopla.co.uk was announced last week as the winner of the Best UK Property Portal category at the 2009 Daily Mail UK Residential Property Awards.
- Ends -
For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
Notes to editors
Zoopla awards
We are proud to have won numerous awards and added several trophies to our cabinet:
- Winner: 'Best Property Portal 2009' (Daily Mail UK Property Awards)
- Winner: 'Best Real Estate Website 2008' (Websiteoftheyear.co.uk)
- Winner: 'Best Property Website - Gold Award' (Web User Magazine)
- Winner: 'UK's Most Promising Internet Company 2008' (First Tuesday)
About Zoopla.co.uk
Zoopla.co.uk is a unique property website offering users information and tools to help them make better-informed property decisions. Our aim is to provide the most comprehensive source of residential property market information in the UK to help buyers, sellers, owners and estate agents alike and give them an advantage in the property market.
In 2007, following the success of bringing DVD rental to the web with LOVEFiLM.com, Zoopla founders Alex Chesterman and Simon Kain realised that the UK property market had yet to fully enjoy the benefits of the internet in terms of its ability to deliver transparency and efficiency. They set out with the mission to transform the property market for both professionals and consumers by:
- offering users FREE access to instant value estimates, sold house prices and local information and trends
- enhancing estate agents' marketing efficiency by providing exposure/leads on a pay-for-performance basis
- helping users find local agents and other property professionals to assist them in the transaction process
- letting buyers make offers on ANY UK home and owners test interest in their homes before choosing to sell
- creating an environment where anyone can ask/answer questions and share their knowledge about homes
By providing FREE value estimates for EVERY UK home, sold prices and local information as well as hundreds of thousands of property listings for sale/to rent, Zoopla.co.uk is fast-becoming the ultimate destination for users to both search for property and to do their market research. We continue to be the UK's fastest growing property website and largest and most active property community, with over a million user contributions to our website in the past 12 months alone. We also offer unique features, like TemptMe. and AskMe., which allow consumers to gain an insight into the market and discover information they won't find anywhere else. Our estate agent directory, FindAnAgent and our unique AskAnAgent feature also help guide users to local professionals directly for their expertise.
We launched our website in January 2008 and since then we've been on a non-stop path to transform the UK online property sector. Our user numbers continue to grow impressively and we have consistently been the UK's fastest growing property website for the past 18 months, now attracting over 1.5 million visits per month to our website.
In July 2009 we acquired Thinkproperty.com from the Guardian Media Group and in August 2009 we added Propertyfinder.com, one of the UK's largest property portals, which we purchased from News International.
Our value estimates are calculated using a proprietary algorithm (secret formula) that we have developed by analysing millions of data points relating to property sales and home characteristics throughout the UK. The algorithm works by comparing relationships between home prices, economic trends and property characteristics in given geographic areas. Our estimates are constantly refined, using the most recent data available and a variety of statistical methodologies, in order to provide the most current information on any home.
Zoopla Limited is a privately held company with a highly experienced and proven management team, backed by well-respected angel investors and leading venture capital firms Atlas Venture (atlasventure.com) and Octopus Ventures (octopusventures.com).