broadbandchoices.co.uk chooses BGF investment to accelerate growth plans

BGF today announced it has invested £10 million for a minority stake in London-based Broadbandchoices.co.uk, a leading UK provider of home communications price comparison services.

Broadbandchoices.co.uk, owned by Decision Technologies Ltd (DTL), is accredited by industry regulator Ofcom with  circa 1.8 million monthly visitors. DTL also has a European footprint through its newly launched comparison websites Comparaiso.es (Spain), Letamis.fr (France) and Schlaubi.de (Germany). In addition to providing comparison and switching services directly to consumers via Broadbandchoices.co.uk, DTL also operates a cutting edge partnership platform through which it powers the home communication comparison services of over 40 white label partners including CompareTheMarket.com, Confused.com and GoCompare.com.

The funding will be used to accelerate Broadbandchoices.co.uk’s ambitions in becoming the UK’s leading destination site for customers looking to save money on broadband, digital TV and home phone services, as well as to promote international expansion with its European brands. It will also be used to develop the company’s proprietary technology, providing exciting tools and apps to make it easier for customers to find the right deal for them and switch. Visitors to the Broadbandchoices.co.uk website can save themselves over £400 from their annual broadband, home phone and digital TV bill.

Founded in March 2005, Broadbandchoices.co.uk has grown to be one of the leading brands in the home communications comparison sector. The management team, led by managing director Michael Phillips and chief operating officer Jon Ingram, has extensive experience in the online price comparison space and in 2012 DTL generated turnover of nearly £11 million. In May 2012 the company was ranked as the 35th fastest growing technology company in Europe by the GP Bullhound Media Momentum Awards, and in September 2012 it was named 58th fastest growing technology business in the UK in the Tech Track 100 Awards.

BGF has acquired a minority stake in the business and Chris Hodges will join the board on behalf of BGF.

Chris Hodges, Investment Director of BGF, commented: “We are excited by the opportunity to back an accomplished and ambitious management team that has created an opportunity to establish its broadbandchoices.co.uk brand in the home communications price comparison market. Michael and Jon have invested in strategic relationships with providers and partners, developed a scalable business model, and have taken DTL from a single website in 2005 to a leading player in the price comparison website market today. They have embraced BGF’s efficient investment process, and have been keen to engage with us to help drive their business forward; I have no doubt that there is much more success to come.”

Michael Phillips, Managing Director of DTL commented: “We have reached a pivotal moment for our business and I am very excited to welcome Business Growth Fund as a partner in accelerating our ambitions for the websites. There is an incredible opportunity in the home communications comparison space as it is an under-developed market – thousands of UK households and businesses are missing out on the right broadband, phone or digital TV deal and we have the perfect solution to change that.

“We have delivered impressive YoY growth without any institutional funding to date, but we wanted the right investment partner to help take the business to the next level. BGF stood out for us due to its impressive pool of expertise and also a huge network of relevant contacts that we can tap into. BGF is genuinely enthusiastic about our business proposition, quickly understood our vision and the scale of the opportunity, and has the resources to support further growth should the right opportunity present itself. I am really looking forward to our new partnership with BGF.”