Insurance and magazine publishing are hardly natural bedfellows, but the current climate is certainly helping buck the trend where unusual is concerned – highlighted by one of the most unique M&A focuses of recent times, with the insurance price comparison site, GoCompare being acquired by Future Publishing, purveyor of established titles like Country Life and Marie Claire.
GoCompare is the smallest of the so-called ‘big four’ price comparison websites after Comparethemarket.com, which is owned by the private company BGL, the listed MoneySupermarket and Confused.com, which is owned by Admiral Group.
This is a shrewd move, given the publisher’s ability to now refer readers of their many titles through to a range of insurance products that are now under the same roof. The cross-section of media titles held by Future cover a diverse range of readers, in both cultural and socio-economic terms, so it will be interesting to see how the GoCompare offering is widened to ensure the right products are on offer – otherwise this novel approach to driving business within the group may fall down.”
With competitors such as Confused.com considering the M&A market, one wonders whether GoCompare are leading the way in terms of being incorporated into commercial entities that drive customers to them from within – exciting times ahead!
Samantha Holland
Samantha Holland is a commercial litigator with an insurance background who works with clients to mitigate risk and minimise loss to their business. She does this by resolving policy coverage disputes as cost-effectively and as quickly as possible and by negotiating clear and effective policy wordings so that disputes can be avoided in the first place.