Property website Zoopla.co.uk receives further £3.75 million investment

Zoopla.co.uk, the UK's fastest growing property website, has bucked both the property market and investment climate trends by announcing the closing of a £3.75 million round of new funding from leading venture capital firms Atlas Venture and Octopus Ventures.

Launched less than a year ago (January 2008), Zoopla.co.uk is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak property market, reporting record website traffic despite the gloomy market conditions and outlook. Zoopla.co.uk is already one of the top five most-visited property websites in the UK (source: Nielsen, Dec 08) having achieved over five million visits and 40 million page views in its first 12 months.

Zoopla.co.uk is the UK's leading website for house price and market value data, providing the most comprehensive source of residential property market information including free, instant value estimates on all 27 million UK homes. And as the UK's most active property community, Zoopla.co.uk continues to harness the combination of publicly available data and proprietary user-generated content, boasting over one million user contributions to its website in 2008 alone. With its imminent and innovative launch of estate agent listings on a pay-for-performance basis, Zoopla.co.uk expects to become the website of choice for anyone interested in the property market - whether buying, selling or just looking to stay informed about market activity.

Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Zoopla.co.uk, commented:

"With our latest funding we will continue to champion transparency and efficiency in the property market and are focussed on empowering users with information and helping estate agents make the most of their marketing spend. The challenging housing market outlook further increases the relevance of Zoopla.co.uk's services at a time when consumers' thirst for information is increasing in the face of difficult property decisions and estate agents seek more cost effective ways of obtaining enquiries and building their inventory pipeline."

Zoopla.co.uk has now raised a total of almost £5.5m with the latest funding being used to further develop the company's technology platform, grow its team and boost its sales and marketing efforts. Zoopla.co.uk has a highly experienced and proven management team led by Alex Chesterman, its founder and CEO, who most recently co-founded ScreenSelect.co.uk (now LOVEFiLM.com, Europe's largest online DVD rental business). In addition to Atlas Venture and Octopus Ventures, other backers of Zoopla.co.uk include Nauiokas Park LLP as well as a number of well-respected angel investors including Sherry Coutu, Robin Klein of the Accelerator Group, Simon Murdoch, Andy Phillipps and William Reeve.

Alex Macpherson, Chief Executive of Octopus Ventures commented:

"The rapid success Zoopla.co.uk has enjoyed since its launch proves there is a clear gap in the market for a service that integrates the requirements of buyers, sellers, owners and estate agents. It is an extremely compelling proposition managed by a team of highly seasoned, successful entrepreneurs with whom Octopus has a longstanding relationship and we are delighted to be working with the Zoopla.co.uk team."

Fred Destin, Partner at Atlas Venture and repeat backer of Zoopla.co.uk added:

"Great businesses emerge in times of hardship. Alex and the team are building the next-generation leader in the property space, we will be there to support them all the way and are grateful to be working with such an accomplished management team."

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For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.

For further Octopus Ventures information please contact Michaela Hopkins / Emily Bastin, The Millbrook Partnership: +44 (0) 20 7520 9455 / ov@millbrookpartnership.com

For further Atlas Venture information please contact Josephine Salm, Ballard Associates: +44 (0) 20 7978 7773 / josephine@ballard-associates.com

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Hello. We're Zoopla. A property website and app.

We know you're not just looking for a place to live. You're looking for a home.

Yeah, we've got over a million properties for you to browse.

Tools that let you filter them in all kinds of clever ways.

And reliable house price estimates, so you can be sure you aren't paying over the odds.

But we know you're looking for more than that.

Because that first flat won't just be a 'great investment opportunity'.

It'll be the feeling of starting out on your own.

That extra bedroom won't just mean another £20K on the re-sale price, it'll mean having your sister over to stay.

And that bungalow won't just be a way to release some equity, it will be a chance to spend more time with the grandkids.

We know that searching for a home is about more than just checking its price, location and features (important as all those things are).

What really matters is how it makes you feel.

We know what a home is really worth.

So let us help you find yours.

Zoopla is part of Zoopla Limited which was founded in 2007.

Zoopla Limited, The Cooperage, 5 Copper Row, London, SE1 2LH Registered in England and Wales with Company No. 06074771 VAT Registration number: 191 2231 33 Data Protection number: Z9972266