Zoopla and Uswitch owner plots break-up and sale

The proprietor of Uswitch, 1 of Britain's biggest terms examination platforms, and Zoopla, the online spot portal, is plotting a break-up that could pb to the merchantability of immoderate of Britain's best-known user websites successful the adjacent 12 months.

Sky News has learnt that Silver Lake Partners, the American backstage equity firm, has hired 2 concern banks to motorboat a reappraisal of strategical options for the assets which beryllium wrong holding institution ZPG.

This weekend, City sources said that JP Morgan and Arma Partners had been engaged by Silver Lake successful caller weeks to counsel connected the project.

Although nary steadfast decisions person been reached astir the aboriginal of ZPG's operating businesses, a bid of merchantability processes for its assorted assets is seen arsenic the likeliest outcome.

The astir salient of the group's subsidiaries is RVU, a smaller holding institution which owns Confused.com, the security examination venture; Uswitch; Money.co.uk; owe brokerage Mojo Mortgages; and Tempcover, a impermanent car security provider.

ZPG besides has 3 different businesses: Zoopla, which sits down Rightmove successful the rankings of Britain's biggest spot portals; Hometrack, a spot accusation tract which besides has communal ownership with PrimeLocation.com; and Alto Software Group, which provides bundle services to property agents done a further radical of subsidiaries.

Silver Lake took ZPG backstage from the London Stock Exchange successful 2018 successful a woody worthy astir £2.2bn.

Since then, it has acquired a fig of different businesses, and reorganised itself into 4 much autarkic entities which beryllium wrong the ZPG holding company.

A root indicated that determination was "no peculiar way oregon outcome" for the strategical reappraisal to take.

Confused.com was added to the radical successful 2020 erstwhile it was absorbed by RVU pursuing the brand's acquisition from Admiral, the London-listed insurer.

ZPG has besides sold respective assets, including RVU's planetary arm, successful 2023.

Industry sources said determination was small oregon nary accidental of ZPG being sold successful 1 transaction, with its assets much apt to beryllium offloaded done respective processes operating connected chiseled timetables.

The valuation that ZPG's subsidiaries mightiness fetch successful aboriginal merchantability processes was unclear this weekend, with immoderate perchance worthy little than their implied worth successful the 2018 takeover.

Many of ZPG's businesses run successful markets which person travel nether expanding pricing pressure, with increasing contention placing a tighter compression connected margins.

Uswitch, which claims to person saved consumers adjacent to £3bn connected their household bills since sits motorboat successful 2000, is expected to pull involvement from bidders, according to insiders.

Other mooted transactions successful the terms examination sector, specified arsenic the merchantability of a number involvement successful Compare The Market, person not materialised.

Moneysupermarket, which is present publically traded nether the sanction Mony Group, is among the different large players successful the industry.

Accounts filed astatine Companies House for Zephyr Midco 2 Limited for the twelvemonth ended December 31, 2023 showed radical revenues of £451.5m, up from £391m the erstwhile year.

It made an operating nonaccomplishment from continuing operations of £23.3m, against a comparable fig of £630.1m successful 2022.

Silver Lake is 1 of the world's biggest backstage equity firms, holding stakes successful companies including Manchester City Football Club's contiguous parent, City Football Group, and the RAC breakdown betterment service.

Sky News revealed past period that the RAC's owners were preparing to prosecute a banal marketplace flotation oregon merchantability of the company.

The buyout steadfast is besides an capitalist successful the New Zealand All Blacks' commercialized rights entity, pursuing a protracted support process.

Silver Lake declined to comment.