£ 140million.co.uk
Best boss in Britain is quids in as he sells firm and staff get £8m
A MAN dubbed Britain’s best boss is in the money after selling his website for up to £140million.
Chris Morling and wife Gael will pocket a fortune after agreeing to flog finance site Money.co.uk to rival ZPG, owner of uSwitch and Zoopla. The deal is worth an initial £80m, plus another £60m if the firm does well. It will also trigger a bumper windfall for Money’s small group of just over 50 staff who own 10% of the business, meaning they will share at least £8m – equivalent to around £160,000 each. It is the latest reward for workers, who already enjoy enviable perks. Morling, 47, spent £3m renovating a castle in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, as the company HQ. The offices, designed by TV’s Laurence LlewelynBowen, boasts a Star Wars cinema, an ice cave-themed meeting room, free beer, a yoga studio, arcade machines and pool tables.
The urinals in the gents are in the shape of the famous lips logo from The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers album.
And every year, Morling takes staff on an all-expenses paid holiday to places such as New York, Copenhagen or Florida.
The business, set up in 2008, made £8m profit on nearly £25m of sales in the year to November.
ZPG said Money.co.uk would continue as a standalone business and that Morling would stay.
Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of ZPG, said: “Broadening our financial services offering has long been a key part of our strategy.”