Zoopla mooted as prospective buyer of Propertyfinder

Property portal Zoopla has emerged as the front-runner for buying Propertyfinder.

There are no other details, but this morning Zoopla issued this statement: "We can confirm that Zoopla.co.uk is currently looking at purchasing the Propertyfinder Group.

"We have a great deal of respect for the business and the brands that have been built within this group and will have further comments on our plans over the coming weeks."

Meanwhile, Zoopla – which launched purely as a house price information service for consumers – has launched a new feature (AskMe! Questions & Answers) which enables estate agents to communicate directly with consumers about anything property-related.

It allows agents to browse user-generated questions in their area and share their local knowledge by giving answers.

Agents who actively engage with ‘AskMe! Q&A’ will be able to demonstrate their expertise by building their online profile and getting points each time they answer a question or their contribution is rated by a Zoopla user as helpful.

Agents sharing their local knowledge directly with the community will be featured on the website as local experts.

Typical questions relate to local house prices and school catchment areas.