Zoopla Defends "Healthy" Business as Sale Rumours Persist

The UK's number two real estate marketplace, Zoopla, has once again distanced itself from sale rumours, saying it's "not a surprise" that its primary investor, Silver Lake Partners, continues to evaluate the business ahead of a potential sale.

According to Sky News, Silver Lake has engaged with two investment banks to launch a strategic review of its investment in ZPG (Houseful), which it purchased for £2.2bn in 2018.

It is understood that Silve Lake wants to assess its options, including updated valuations for each of the assets under the ZPG umbrella, the flagship brand of which is Zoopla itself.

But a spokesperson said:

“As part of the normal course of business, the board that oversees the ZPG group of companies regularly evaluates and sometimes engages specialist advisers to assess opportunities to best position the businesses for long-term growth and success.

“Speculation around this is not a surprise. It is a sign of a healthy set of businesses across ZPG and underscores the strength of what they offer to customers and the value we continue to build.

“For Zoopla, it’s business as usual. We are building the UK’s largest and most active homeowner audience which has more than 4.8m subscribers. This is driving significant value and returns for our customers. This audience, combined with our high performing marketplace, enables customers to reach, engage and convert homeowners into instructions and high-quality buyers.”

Other brands under the ZPG umbrella include Hometrack, Alto and the holding company behind consumer-facing brands Confused.com and Uswitch.

Houseful CEO Charlie Bryant told Online Marketplaces in 2024 that Zoopla is consistently profitable and remains unconcerned by "noise" surrounding its potential sale and the emergence of the CoStar-backed OnTheMarket.

However, Bryant did concede that "what goes into private equity must come out...but we're not in that position yet."