Money Saving Expert Sold

GeoMal · 01-06-2012, 08:27:27 AM

Announced this morning, Martin Lewis has sold MSE to Moneysupermarket for �87M.

I've long thought he delisted his company and operated as a sole trader as he didn't want his disciples to see just how much money he was making, but it has now been declared. In the year to Oct 2011 it made �12.6m earnings before tax.

Edwin · 01-06-2012, 08:34:44 AM

Made much less than I expected (it's a fantastic number but considering the markets its in and the site's popularity...)

Blossom · 01-06-2012, 08:35:49 AM

Wow, didn't think he'd ever sell that since it's so closely tied to his personal self/'brand'.

dashu1 · 01-06-2012, 09:02:15 AM

So it is possible to monetize a forum after all.

Nice really for him since 99% of the content (and the pull of the site) has been added by the public.

Edwin · 01-06-2012, 09:21:47 AM

Basically right on 7x EBITDA

Blossom · 01-06-2012, 09:27:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dashu1

So it is possible to monetize a forum after all.

Nice really for him since 99% of the content (and the pull of the site) has been added by the public.

Well...I imagine a lot of the money is made via the newsletter, and a fair amount of the actually useful content is guides and stuff written by staff. And he has done a hell of a lot in terms of promoting it, especially since 2008.

The forum is huge though, and I guess it's the main draw for a lot of people.

GeoMal · 01-06-2012, 09:37:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

Well...I imagine a lot of the money is made via the newsletter, and a fair amount of the actually useful content is guides and stuff written by staff. And he has done a hell of a lot in terms of promoting it, especially since 2008.

The forum is huge though, and I guess it's the main draw for a lot of people.

The forum, amongst other things, gave the site sufficient authority to rank feature (affiliate) pages for just about every financial product going, especially for "cheap" type searches.

namdas · 01-06-2012, 09:38:51 AM

I expect the forum acts as a huge draw for traffic and links and likely doesn't make much money alone - but of course the links and other signals it generates have equated to great rankings for the guides which make the most revenue

vizzo · 01-06-2012, 09:40:18 AM

Be interesting to see how MSE develops. Will it maintain its current angle ( consumer focused) or just be a selling tool for moneysupermarket.

Also will be interested to see what Lewis does next!

retired_member27 · 01-06-2012, 10:04:56 AM

Hopefully they will finally get rid of his smug face plastered all over the website.

01-06-2012, 08:27:27 AM	#1 (permalink)
GeoMal Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sunny Wales Posts: 580 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 14)	Money Saving Expert Sold Announced this morning, Martin Lewis has sold MSE to Moneysupermarket for �87M. I've long thought he delisted his company and operated as a sole trader as he didn't want his disciples to see just how much money he was making, but it has now been declared. In the year to Oct 2011 it made �12.6m earnings before tax. Last edited by GeoMal; 01-06-2012 at 08:38:38 AM. Reason: Made a mistake!

01-06-2012, 08:34:44 AM	#2 (permalink)
Edwin Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 5,192 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 49)	Made much less than I expected (it's a fantastic number but considering the markets its in and the site's popularity...) __________________ Memorable Domains Ltd - 7,000 descriptive, generic .co.uk domains for sale Please note: All sale prices over a week old are automatically invalid. No exceptions. Thanks!

01-06-2012, 08:35:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
Blossom Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: UK Posts: 1,260 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 3)	Wow, didn't think he'd ever sell that since it's so closely tied to his personal self/'brand'. __________________ Jenni \| Blossom \| Video Tutorials @blossomnu (tell me you're from Acorn & I'll add you back!)

01-06-2012, 09:40:18 AM	#9 (permalink)
vizzo Join Date: May 2010 Location: Cumbria Posts: 386 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 15)	Be interesting to see how MSE develops. Will it maintain its current angle ( consumer focused) or just be a selling tool for moneysupermarket. Also will be interested to see what Lewis does next! __________________ Qontent.co.uk - Quality Content, UK Writers

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01-06-2012, 09:02:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
dashu1 Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,037 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (94% / 14)	So it is possible to monetize a forum after all. Nice really for him since 99% of the content (and the pull of the site) has been added by the public.

01-06-2012, 09:21:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Edwin Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 5,192 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 49)	Basically right on 7x EBITDA

01-06-2012, 09:38:51 AM	#8 (permalink)
namdas Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 102 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 5)	I expect the forum acts as a huge draw for traffic and links and likely doesn't make much money alone - but of course the links and other signals it generates have equated to great rankings for the guides which make the most revenue

01-06-2012, 10:04:56 AM	#10 (permalink)
retired_member27 Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 710 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 3)	Hopefully they will finally get rid of his smug face plastered all over the website.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Domain Name Community	Replies	Last Post
Money Saving / Utility Warehouse Domains or Websites Wanted	bluemaian	Domain Name Wanted	3	11-08-2010 12:38:29 PM
How to make good money online as an expert domain researcher - Ecommerce Journal	RSS	Domain Name News	0	30-06-2009 12:59:04 PM