Moneysupermarket.com acquires Decision Tech

Moneysupermarket.com has agreed to acquire BGF-backed Decision Tech following a period of acquisitive expansion and growth. As part of the deal, BGF, which has backed the company since 2012, will exit its minority equity investment.

Decision Tech is a market leading business in price comparison for home communications. In addition to operating broadbandchoices.co.uk, the company provides the technology, data and performance analytics powering telecoms comparison on major brands including Moneysavingexpert.com. These services help its business partners offer best customer experience and monetisation, without having to develop their own technology.

BGF’s £10m of growth capital funding has been used by Decision Tech’s founder and CEO Michael Philips to build a business of scale in the price comparison market. Following the investment, the company made four acquisitions – including sellmymobile.com and comparemymobile.com – and invested in marketing, operations and its proprietary technology to support growth.

Following the acquisition, Michael Philips and the team will join the Moneysupermarket Group and continue in their roles. Chairman Peter Opperman, who was introduced by BGF and has provided strategic guidance to the company, will step down from the Board.

Michael Philips said: “I am delighted that Decision Tech is joining the Moneysupermarket.com Group. This is a testament to our team’s dedication to technical innovation in creating cutting edge comparison solutions for our partners, and a first-class user experience for consumers looking to save money through our portfolio of brands. We are looking forward to being part of a group that shares our values and will open new opportunities for us to launch new products to our B2B partners and build the profile of our trusted consumer brands.

“I would like to personally thank BGF and our non-executive Board team, who have been a constant in their support and encouragement.”

The transaction was led for BGF by Mark Nunny, who has served on the Board of Decision Tech.

Mark Nunny, BGF said: “This is a fantastic result for Michael and the team, and we’re delighted to support it. The Decision Tech team had big ambitions when we invested in the company, and they have been resolute in driving growth and building a respected brand. They have now developed a market leading B2B offering which will become part of the Moneysupermarket Group.

BGF’s approach to shareholder value creation has given management the headroom to develop and evolve the business to match the market opportunity. We wish them the best as they move to the next phase with Moneysupermarket. The team will become valued members of the BGF alumni.”

The advisors to the transaction were BDO (Financial) and Squires Patton Boggs (Legal) for DTL and EY (Financial DD) and HSF (Legal) for Moneysupermarket.