Zoopla to buy Uswitch

Shares in online property website Zoopla jumped 14% following the announcement that it had agreed to buy price comparison website uSwitch.com for up to £190m.

Whilst both sites will continue to trade under their separate brands - this is acquisition is seen by Alex Chesterman, Zoopla's founder and chief executive - as a "natural next step" in creating a one-stop shop for consumers to "research, find and manage their homes".

We currently offer a great service that helps consumers research the market and find their next home, now consumers will be able to use us to cut their energy deals, get a better broadband deal, find better home insurance and much more,'

Founded in 2008 by My Chesterman, Zoopla quickly rose to becoming the second biggest online property website in the UK with over 500 million users in comparison to uSwitch's 50 million. He added;

This is a transformational acquisition and a meaningful step towards delivering our long-term strategy to be the market-leading resource for consumers and most effective lead-generation engine for professionals in the property space.

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Steve Weller, the chief executive of uSwitch said the takeover would be good for consumers, "I am confident that we will be able to help even more people save money on their household bills".

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