Re Zoopla H1 Results

RNS Number : 3720G

LSL Property Services

06 May 2014

 



For Immediate Release

6 May 2014

LSL Property Services plc

Zoopla Property Group results for the half year ended 31 March 2014  

Zoopla Property Group Ltd ('ZPG') in which LSL owns a [4.9]% stake, today has released its half year results for the six months to 31 March 2014.

ZPG's RNS release is as follows:

"ZOOPLA PROPERTY GROUP REPORTS STRONG H1 GROWTH

Zoopla Property Group Ltd (ZPG), the digital media business and operator of leading UK online property portals including Zoopla and PrimeLocation, announces its half-year KPIs and financial performance for the six months ending 31st March 2014.

The Group is experiencing record levels of traffic to its websites and mobile apps with 39.9m monthly visits on average during the period with mobile devices now accounting for over half of the monthly visits as consumers use the Group's services to search and research the property market at work, at home and on the move.

With the increased levels of property market activity and growing audience using its portals, ZPG's members are benefitting from higher volumes of enquiries and as a result are increasingly purchasing additional products over and above the standard subscription packages with Premium Listings, Appraisal Booster and Area Sponsorship being the top three most popular additional marketing products.

And with UK house prices on the rise and homeowner confidence at a 5-year high, according to the latest Zoopla Housing Market Sentiment Survey, an increasing number of consumers are using the Group's services to research the market with over 1.1 million customised property value estimates (over 4 per minute) obtained on the Zoopla website during the period.

Commenting on today's announcement Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla Property Group said, "We are delighted with the strong growth in our audience and engagement levels over the first half of this year as more and more consumers rely on our websites and mobile apps to both search for properties and research the property market. We remain focused on building a sustainable and profitable business and continuing to deliver on our mission of providing the most useful property resources for consumers and being the most effective partner for property professionals across the UK."

"We are pleased that we have continued to deliver even greater value to our members whilst Group revenues have grown and as a result we were able to pay an interim dividend to our shareholders of £14m for the period."

Financial and operating information for the six months to 31st March 2014

	6 months to 31 March 2014	6 months to 31 March 2013	YoY variance %
Average monthly visits (million)	39.9	29.0	+37%
No. of advertising members at period end	19,239	17,803	+8%
No. of properties advertised at period end	1,097,000	1,064,000	+3%
Average revenue per member per month	£301	£251	+20%
Revenue	£38.3m	£30.3m	+26%
Adjusted EBITDA	£18.7m	£14.8m	+26%

-ENDS-

For further information relating to Zoopla, please contact:

Lawrence Hall at ZPG [e-mail] on 020 7620 4618 or 07890 078 945

Dan Yea at Maitland on [e-mail] on 020 7379 5151

Key Performance Indicators - definitions

The Group has identified a number of financial and non-financial key performance indicators ("KPIs") to measure progress against the Group's strategic objectives.

Adjusted EBITDA

Excluding share based payments and exceptional costs.

Visits

Visits comprise individual sessions on the Group's websites and mobile applications by users for the period indicated as measured by Google Analytics.

 Number of members

The Group's number of members as at a given date represents the total number of estate/lettings agency branches (UK - March 2014: 16,613, March 2013: 15,645; Overseas - March 2014: 352, March 2013: 250 ) and new home developments (March 2014: 2,626; March 2013: 2,158) paying subscription fees to advertise their property listings on the Group's platform at such date.

Number of listings

The Group's number of listings as at a given date represents the total number of properties being advertised for sale or rent on the Group's platform at such date. Individual properties advertised by multiple members are counted as separate listings for these purposes.

Average revenue per member

Average revenue per member is the total monthly revenue from agents and developers for a given period divided by the average number of Group members for such period. 

About Zoopla Property Group

Zoopla Property Group Ltd is a digital media business that owns and operates some of the UK's leading online property brands including Zoopla, Primelocation, SmartNewHomes and HomesOverseas. Each of our brands has a distinct market position and attracts a unique audience, delivering increased exposure and enquiries for our members.

Over 16,500 estate agent and lettings agent branches across the UK advertise on our websites each month in addition to all the leading new homes developers. Our websites and mobile apps attract 40 million visits per month and generate over 2 million enquiries per month for our member estate/letting agents and property developers.

Zoopla.co.uk is the UK's most comprehensive property website, focused on empowering users with the resources they need to make better-informed property decisions. We help consumers both find their next home and research the market by combining hundreds of thousands of property listings with market data, local information and community tools.

Primelocation.com is one of the UK's leading property websites, focused on helping house-hunters in the middle and upper tiers of the market find their next home with listings advertised by all of the top estate and letting agents across the UK.

SmartNewHomes.com is the UK's #1 website exclusively for new build properties and lists new developments available for sale from all the leading UK housebuilders.

HomesOverseas.co.uk is the UK's leading website dedicated entirely to helping users find the perfect holiday property abroad.

In addition to operating our own websites we exclusively power the property search facility on a number of the UK's biggest websites which means that we offer our members exposure to an unrivalled property audience in the UK. Our exclusive partnerships include The Times, The Telegraph, Independent, Evening Standard, The Daily Mail, Homes & Property, AOL, MSN, Homes24 and many more.

Zoopla Property Group Ltd was founded in 2007 and is a privately held company with a highly-experienced management team, led by Founder & CEO, Alex Chesterman."

For further information, please contact:

Sapna Bedi FitzGerald

LSL Property Services plc                                                                          0207 382 0360

Richard Darby, Sophie McNulty

Buchanan                                                                                                      0207 466 5000

Notes to Editors:

LSL Property Services plc is a leading provider of residential property services to its two key customer groups. Services to consumers include: residential sales, lettings, surveying and advice on mortgages and non-investment insurance products. Services to mortgage lenders include: valuations and panel management services, asset management and property management services.  For further information, please visit our website: www.lslps.co.uk.

 

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