Daily Mail and General Trust plc Owned Zoopla Sets IPO Price Range

Zoopla, which is 52% owned by Daily Mail and General Trust plc (LON: DMGT), could be valued at £940m.

Mark Stones

Mark Stones (TMFMumbojumbones) joined The Motley Fool in 2014 and initially worked as a writer for Fool.co.uk, before joining the Fool’s analyst programme. Mark earned a BA in English from Loughborough University. Although he spends more time reading annual reports than Russian literature these days, he still appreciates a novelist’s antipathy toward the accepted view, which is a useful attitude when trying to sniff out hidden gems on the stock market. His approach to investing has been largely influenced by the principles of Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. He also takes a special interest in the work of healthcare companies. Outside of investing, Mark plays guitar, enjoys good writing and has a guilty passion for combat sports.

Published 5 June, 2014 10:01 am BST

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Zoopla Property Group, the property website launched in 2008, set a price range for its IPO at 200p to 250p per share. The Daily Mail & General Trust (LSE: DMGT) owned group would be valued at roughly £940m if its shares are priced in the middle of the range.

The final pricing is expected to be announced on or around 19 June with conditional trading beginning the same day.

Zoopla grew revenues by more than a quarter to £38.2m in the six months to 31 March (against £30.3m a year earlier). The Zoopla founder and chief executive, Alex Chesterman, commented that “more and more customers rely on our websites and mobile apps to research the property market”.

Zoopa is experiencing record numbers of page views to its websites and mobile apps, averaging 39.9m monthly visits as of March, having benefited from the increasing activity in the property market due to low borrowing costs and the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

The firm makes money by charging a fee to estate agents to list their properties, as well as advertising and the sale of research data.

Shares in Rightmove, a rival property service, are down 20% since the beginning of the year after internet stocks underwent a steep price correction.