Zoopla announces massive growth plans for 2020

Zoopla has this afternoon announced a massive growth programme for 2020 with 120 new staff and expansion in most of its activities.

The recruitment represents a headcount increase of over one sixth, and the new roles include dozens of hires for product development, software engineering and data analysis; in a formal statement just released the portal says this is “reflecting the company’s major focus on innovation.”

New roles will also be created in marketing and what the portal calls “customer success” as well as other business support functions.

In addition to its Zoopla and PrimeLocation portals, Zoopla now operates the SmartNewHomes website, the Hometrack data consultancy, cloud-based tools including Alto, Jupix and Expert Agent, as well as Ravensworth print and design service.

Commenting on the expansion, Zoopla chief executive Charlie Bryant says: “We have ambitious growth plans for 2020 and the creation of 120 new roles will be vital to us meeting our goals of reinvigorating the home buying process and providing an even better experience for agents. 

“While there have no doubt been improvements since the launch of portals we know customer expectations rightly always increase. This is why we believe the process of buying, selling or renting a home is one that could still benefit from both innovation and a renewed focus on improving the customer experience. 

“These new hires will bolster the strong teams of property experts we already have across the UK and will help us build a truly unique offer for home hunters and agents alike.”

Almost all of the new hires will be at Zoopla’s central London headquarters and the headcount will exceed 750 in all.

“London is a global hub for tech talent” says Dave Wascha, Zoopla’s chief technology officer. 

“Product and Technology is a key focus for us in 2020 and this significant investment reflects this. We are looking for highly-skilled experts who are seeking a once-in-a-career opportunity to reimagine an entire industry. Zoopla is a dynamic, exciting and innovative place to work with technology at its heart and we look forward to welcoming our new colleagues in the months to come.”

Founded in 2007, Zoopla now has some 55m visits a month and 1.4m unique users a month. 

The company returned to private ownership in July 2018 after a purchase by a group led by global private equity firm Silver Lake. 

Far from retrenching and accepting a ‘second portal to Rightmove’ - as some analysts had expected - Zoopla’s leadership team since the Silver Lake acquisition has been expanding rapidly in staff and technology.