The popular financial advice website moneysavingexpert.com has been sold in a deal worth £87million to the comparison website moneysupermarket.com. The website is owned by Martin Lewis, who is a money saving expert that often appears on television shows and other media to offer financial advice.
Moneysavingexpert.com has become a dominant force on the internet and is the first stop for many people looking for financial advice and money saving tips. The website’s forums are highly popular. The website was owned exclusively by Martin Lewis and employs 40 people. Although independent and unbiased the site makes almost £13million per year in profit. Much of the money comes from referring members to products even though the site remains independent and unbiased.
Some people will be worried about the future of the website but Mr Lewis has done a deal to stay at the reigns for 3 years. A condition of the sale is that it remains unbiased although what happens after the 3 year term is undetermined. The £87million deal included £60million upfront and £27million worth of cash and shares tied to non-profit related growth targets.
Martin Lewis said that he was selling the website to see it progress without him and that there were increasing pressures of running the website alongside his campaigning alongside organisations such as Which? and his media work. He said: This is great news for MoneySavingExpert.com and its users, ensuring, with or without me, the site will be around for many years to come, maintaining our ethos of ‘cutting your costs and fighting your corner’.
‘MoneySavingExpert.com has become part of people’s daily lives, far bigger than the man who founded it, and now is the right time for it to stand on its own two feet.’
The website sale is subject to clearance by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). If it goes ahead £10million will be donated to charity by Mr Lewis, £9million to a Charity Aids Foundation Trust and £1million to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.