Exciting times for Zoopla!

Alex Macpherson - 15 February 2010

One of the most exciting things about investing in small, growing companies is watching them make progress and have an impact on their market. In the world of venture capital this means a business' products or services are proving effective: becoming useful enhancements to people's lives, allowing them to find new, more efficient ways of doing things and freeing up their precious time. This is very rewarding process and something which all investors can share in.

An example of this is Zoopla!, one of the Titan VCT portfolio companies. Zoopla! Is an online property information service and community website integrating elements such as house pricing, free valuation estimates, and ‘For Sale' listings, as well as local community information - all on one site. When we made our investment we were excited by the management team and the way in which Zoopla! had the capacity to appeal to all those in the property market - and not just those looking to buy or sell their houses.

Clearly, property transactions are an important element of the market, but would a property website not be more interesting if it featured more than just house for sale or to rent? Hence Zoopla! developed their offering, including a facility enabling all users to value properties, whether or not currently for sale, and to input information on home improvements carried out.

Since it launched, the business has developed rapidly. It has become one of the most visited property websites in the UK, achieving record website traffic despite the challenging economic environment. Ironically, the economic turbulence might have assisted Zoopla! in creating a series of acquisition opportunities that may not have been available or possible in a more benign environment. These acquisitions included Propertyfinder and Thinkproperty.co.uk, which are now powered by Zoopla! making it the second most visited property portal in the UK after Rightmove. Take a look at the Alexa data daily traffic trends since Zoopla! launched in January 2008. It's outpacing many of the established competitors with a more user friendly and relevant proposition.

This is reflected in recognition from industry experts. Recently, Zoopla! won the Best UK Property Portal category at the Daily Mail UK Residential Property Awards. It will now go through to the International Property Awards held in California in November 2010 and will be the only UK portal to compete, an achievement in itself!

Innovation is critical in all markets and Zoopla! continues to push these boundaries with the goal of providing a total service offering to property owners and those searching for property. The most recent addition to the site is an auction facility partnering with US auctions business REDC. This will be the first online property auction in the UK, bringing a new dimension to the UK property market. It may be new to the UK but it is notable that in the US REDC's online auctions turn over £50 million a month.

Companies like Zoopla! are succeeding because they have great ideas, and management teams with vision, who have the ability to execute a plan to deliver that vision. It is management teams like Zoopla's who continue to innovate and expand, which in turn leads to growth and job creation, ultimately benefiting the UK economy. We hope our passion and energy for small business will continue to play its part in assisting teams with ideas and talent, which brings the potential to deliver exceptional growth rates and returns to shareholders.