Zoopla and Digital Property Group merger completes
1st June 2012
The merger between Zoopla Ltd and The Digital Property Group Ltd has now completed, it was announced today. The transaction, which was agreed last October, had been pending subject to clearance from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which was granted in April.
The newly enlarged company will be headed up by Alex Chesterman, Zoopla’s Founder & CEO, who will continue in the role of CEO and David Dutton, former Chairman of Digital Property Group, will become its Chairman.
Integration of the businesses is now underway, although expected to take some months to finalise. In the meantime, it will be business as usual for both companies, which we will be operated separately until the integration has been completed. Once fully integrated, the enlarged business will have an unrivalled position in the UK online property market in terms of audience, brands, partnerships, products and proposition.
Each of the existing brands of the combined business - Zoopla.co.uk, FindaProperty.com and Primelocation.com - will continue to operate for the foreseeable future. The employees from both businesses will be combined to form a single world-class team and, as a result of the merger and the duplication of certain roles, a formal consultation process is now underway with the staff of both businesses.
Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla said:“This merger is a huge step towards our goal of becoming the UK’s most useful online resource for property consumers and most effective online marketing partner for property advertisers. We still have much work to do over the coming months, but the result of integrating these businesses will be a significantly enhanced experience for our users and significantly enhanced value for our advertisers.”
David Dutton, Chairman of Digital Property Group, said, “This is an exciting day. Our combined businesses have the scale and the resources to transform the online property sector for the benefit of consumers and advertisers alike. We are committed to providing the most innovative products and the most cost-effective advertising propositions, which will give our users and members a genuine powerful alternative in our marketplace.”
Advisors on the deal:
- Sole financial advisors to Zoopla Ltd and A&N Media - Lepe Partners
- Legal advisors to Zoopla Ltd – Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- Legal advisors to A&N Media – Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP
- Legal advisors on competition matters - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- Ends -
For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
About Digital Property Group
Digital Property Group is a subsidiary of Zoopla Ltd, and operates property websites Primelocation.com and FindaProperty.com.
Primelocation.com (www.primelocation.com) serves the leading estate agency firms across the UK, including the major national agencies Countrywide, Savills, Knight Frank, Hamptons International, Chesterton Humberts, Strutt & Parker, Cluttons, Carter Jonas, as well as many other London and regional firms.
FindaProperty.com (www.findaproperty.com) offers a comprehensive search facility for house-hunters looking to buy or rent a home. In 2011, FindaProperty.com won Property Portal of the Year in the LSL awards. The site includes independent editorial on the housing market, as well as guides on different aspects of the buying, selling and renting processes, and area profiles including information on council tax rates, school tables and crime rates. Findaproperty.com lists close to 1 million properties for sale or rent from over 12,600 agent branches.
About Zoopla
Hello. We're Zoopla. A property website and app.
We know you're not just looking for a place to live. You're looking for a home.
Yeah, we've got over a million properties for you to browse.
Tools that let you filter them in all kinds of clever ways.
And reliable house price estimates, so you can be sure you aren't paying over the odds.
But we know you're looking for more than that.
Because that first flat won't just be a 'great investment opportunity'.
It'll be the feeling of starting out on your own.
That extra bedroom won't just mean another £20K on the re-sale price, it'll mean having your sister over to stay.
And that bungalow won't just be a way to release some equity, it will be a chance to spend more time with the grandkids.
We know that searching for a home is about more than just checking its price, location and features (important as all those things are).
What really matters is how it makes you feel.
We know what a home is really worth.
So let us help you find yours.
Zoopla is part of Zoopla Limited which was founded in 2007.
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