UK consumer expert to earn £87m from sale of his website
Well-known TV personality Martin Lewis is set to become £87million richer today in a deal to sell his website, MoneySavingExpert, to a rival.
The website, which was set up for £100 nine years ago as little more than a ‘homepage’, is to be sold to MoneySupermarket. Under the deal, Lewis will receive receive £60m upfront in cash and shares plus a further £27million if targets are met under the deal. He has also pledged to give £10m to charity.
A hugely popular site, in the year until 31 October, it had 39 million unique visitors and generated revenues of £15.7m in the same period.
Under the takeover deal, Mr Lewis will retain full control of the website. Speaking about the deal, he said: “MoneySavingExpert.com has become part of people’s daily lives, far bigger than the man who founded it, and now is the right time for it to stand on its own two feet.”
He said he chose Moneysupermarket because it is not owned by any product providers and had signed up to an editorial code, which ensures the website’s content will be free from commercial pressures.
Lewis will remain editor-in-chief for the next three years, with the help of Moneysupermarket’s resources and the website’s existing 42-strong staff.
Some £1m of his windfall will go to the Citzens’ Advice, with the remainder going to a Charities Aid Foundation trust.