The UK’s three largest estate agent groups – Countrywide, LSL and Connells – have signed up their long-term support to Zoopla.
In return, the three respective chief executives – Grenville Turner, Simon Embley and David Livesey – have all been given places on the Zoopla board of directors.
The corporates’ move to support Zoopla would have been unthinkable a few years ago, when Rightmove’s founding shareholders were Countrywide, Halifax (now part of LSL) and Connells.
Under the agreements with Zoopla, the groups will advertise all their properties on and provide additional marketing and advisory support to Zoopla as it strives to win the battle of the portals.
Between them, the three chains operate more than 2,000 high street branches across the UK under a variety of brands including Hamptons International, Bridgfords, Reed Rains, Your Move, William H Brown and Barnard Marcus, and have combined annual revenues in excess of £875m.
Since its launch only two years ago, Zoopla has grown at a swift pace, buying both Propertyfinder and Thinkproperty, and reaching an audience of almost 5m visitors per month.
Each of the agent groups plan to work closely with Zoopla on a variety of initiatives to maximise the online opportunities for all Zoopla agent members and the industry.
Grenville Turner, CEO of Countrywide, said: “Zoopla has become an important player and leading innovator in the online property sector. This partnership further enhances our online strategy and will serve to maximise the benefits for each of our brands online.”
David Livesey, group CEO of Connells, said: “We look forward to helping Zoopla to build on its success to date.”
Alex Chesterman, Zoopla’s founder and CEO, said the decision of the big chains to endorse Zoopla as a business partner was testament to what his company had achieved in the last two years.
Asked how independent agents would react to the involvement of the big corporates, he said: “Our focus remains on ensuring that we are the best place for consumers to find property online and are the most efficient online marketing partner for all our agent members, whether groups or independents.
“These partnerships will allow us to better understand and serve the needs of the agent community and maximise the online opportunities for the industry as a whole.”
Seats on board at Zoopla for big three agency chains
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Comments
should be working now!
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This is great news. The portal that helps private seller sites ie google and ebay is now giving away seats on its board. I've also been told that the corporates are being given it free. Actually I used to get it free until I came off after they started promoting private sale sites. It was free because it had no future value. Zoopa are obviously hoping they will get others on board by following the corporates. Its the independent agents they need first then the corporates will follow and pay!!!
In 3 years Zoopa has made no money and only stayed afloat thanks to venture capital. How long will that last?
James, sure, it just depends on what you define as proactive.
I think that boards are the dogs. But "the internet has all the fancy features but it can lead to people making the wrong assumptions about a property and not enquiring". Long live Traditional methods The Good old Board and the Proactive INDEPENDENT well heeled Estate agent
Makes me Laugh all this Connells Sequence etc hoping to male a fast buck in 12 months to keep thier struggling offices afloat once again!! Similar to their Rightmove escapade.....
The assistant manager here at WH Smith claims never to have heard of Zoopla. Who stocks it ?
Jobs for the boys! How do Zoopla expect indies to react to this? Rightmove gave their major agent shareholders advance access to contact data & allowed them higher quality & more extensive outbound comms & ad opportunities than the rest of us. Zoopla have just shot themsleves in the gonads. Berks.
Let's hope this means Zoopla stops working with private sellers on Ebay etc. I wont advertise with them until they do.
Seats on the board eh?
Makes sense for Zoopla to bolster their management team with such experience, just so long as their involvement does not lead to a future Zoopla bias toward these' big three'. Portals have many more independent branches listing with them than corporates and should be careful not to create a two tier arrangement.