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The owner of Uswitch, one of Britain’s biggest price comparison platforms, and Zoopla, the online property portal, is plotting a break-up that could lead to the sale of some of Britain’s best-known consumer websites in the next 12 months.
Sky News has learnt that Silver Lake Partners, the American private equity firm, has hired two investment banks to launch a review of strategic options for the assets which sit within holding company ZPG.
This weekend, City sources said that JP Morgan and Arma Partners had been engaged by Silver Lake in recent weeks to advise on the project.
Although no firm decisions have been reached about the future of ZPG’s operating businesses, a series of sale processes for its various assets is seen as the likeliest outcome.
The most prominent of the group’s subsidiaries is RVU, a smaller holding company which owns Confused.com, the insurance comparison venture; Uswitch; Money.co.uk; mortgage brokerage Mojo Mortgages; and Tempcover, a temporary car insurance provider.
ZPG also has three other businesses: Zoopla, which sits behind Rightmove in the rankings of Britain’s biggest property portals; Hometrack, a property information site which also has common ownership with PrimeLocation.com; and Alto Software Group, which provides software services to estate agents through a further group of subsidiaries.
Silver Lake took ZPG private from the London Stock Exchange in 2018 in a deal worth about £2.2bn.
Since then, it has acquired a number of other businesses, and reorganised itself into four more independent entities which sit within the ZPG holding company.
A source indicated that there was “no particular path or outcome” for the strategic review to take.
Confused.com was added to the group in 2020 when it was absorbed by RVU following the brand’s acquisition from Admiral, the London-listed insurer.
ZPG has also sold several assets, including RVU’s international arm, in 2023.
Industry sources said there was little or no…
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