Innovative Business of the Year 2011

Founded: 2008 Founders: Alex Chesterman & Simon Kain Turnover 2010: £8.1m Turnover 2011: £14m (est) Web:  www.zoopla.co.uk

Zoopla, the property website which claimed the Innovative Business of the Year prize at this year’s Fast Growth Business Awards, has enjoyed meteoric success since being founded in 2008. The company is currently recording revenues of more than £1m per month, and growth is continuing at a rate of 80% per annum. Only Rightmove attracts more visitors at present, and this could change in the near future, following Zoopla’s recent announcement of its planned merger with Digital Property Group – hitherto a key competitor.

To survive in the ever-congested property market, Zoopla’s founders Alex Chesterman and Simon Kain have developed a highly resourceful and disruptive service, which marries property listings with market value data, and an estate agent location service. The site can offer an instant valuation estimate on any UK property, and its read-write format encourages users to fill in missing information with their own insight – encouraging visitors to feel like stakeholders in Zoopla’s development.

Zoopla now delivers over 18 leads every minute to the UK’s property professionals. Little wonder that more than 60% of Britain’s estate agents now advertise on the site, and the CEOs of Britain’s top three estate agency groups sit on the Zoopla board. The company’s data is held in great esteem across the industry; Zoopla’s UK Property Rich List is widely covered, and further exposure has been secured through exclusive partnerships with the likes of AOL, Sky, Yahoo and MSN.

With the Zoopla app currently receiving praise from renowned media such as The Daily Mail and The Financial Times, and its recent launch of innovative property value heatmaps the company remains at the forefront of the online property industry, and the pace of innovation – and recognition – shows no sign of slowing down.

Judges’ Comments: In less than three years, Zoopla.co.uk has become an essential website to everyone involved in the UK residential property market. They continue to invest in constantly evolving technology enabling users to gain an insight into the market and discover information they won’t find anywhere else, from free, instant valuations on your home to apps that  give you the prices of the properties you are pointing your phone at!

Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla.co.uk said: “We are honoured to have received this award that recognises the innovative approach we bring to the online property market. We are delighted with our accomplishments to date and continue to focus on delivering the best online property experience for our users and the best online marketing service for our members.”

www.zoopla.co.uk