The decision follows a strategic review conducted by the insurer, which took full control of Gocompare a year ago.
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Owner of the company, in London Stock Exchange listed insurance giant esure Group, said that following a strategic review it plans a demerger of the business which was founded by Hayley Parsons.
After three months’ deliberation esure has chose to give Gocompare to its own shareholders through a demerger which will see each of them receive shares in the comparison website on a one-for-one basis. “We have invigorated the business. the next phase for Gocompare is to deliver strong growth from a wider product range and the demerger is really about how we maximise the potential of that business”, CEO Stuart Vann told Reuters.
The move follows an announcement earlier this year from Esure that it would look at selling Go Compare, having acquired the remaining 50 per cent of the company that it didn’t already own in December 2014.
The insurance group appointed Matthew Crummack as Newport-based Gocompare’s chief executive in June, and he has been beefing up the firm’s executive team in advance of a demerger.
He said it would allow separate management teams to focus on independent strategies. “We are all focused on the implementation and evolution of the Gocompare.com strategy, which we believe will continue to enhance Gocompare’s business performance”, he said.
Shares in Esure lifted 1% in morning trading, but have jumped 17% this year, valuing the group at £1.2bn.
Esure said the spin off was set to take place in the fourth quarter of the year.
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Eamonn Flanagan, analyst at Shore Capital, said the demerger makes “strategic sense”.
