Gocompare’s revenues are plenty to sing about
Price comparison firm Gocompare has reported a near 20% rise in revenues, with its chief executive describing its brand character Gio Compario as an “excellent investment”.
Chief executive Matthew Crummack said the business aims to become Wales’ primary technology employer and was “super-happy” with talent levels at its Newportbased operation.
Gocompare, which last November demerged from Esure to become a London Stock Market business in its own right, said that revenues for 2016 were £142.1m compared to £118.9m a year earlier.
However, the cost of the demerger and listing on the London Stock Exchange saw its operating profits down from £23.3m a year earlier to £21.9m.
Last year the business spent around £87m on marketing, the lion’s share of which went on its TV advertising campaign starring its brand character Gio Compario, played by Wayne Evans.
Mr Crummack said: “The character Gio is the spokesperson for the brand. He does what we want him to say and he is very effective in communicating our message to consumers. It is an excellent investment for us and a creative idea that cuts through a very noisy marketplace. So it is a great creative vehicle and we are very happy with it.”
Gocompare is exploring ways of simplifying its online processes and encouraging more people to switch and save money on products from car insurance to energy suppliers.
Mr Crummack said that research carried out by Gocompare showed that only 20% of consumers switched products last year.
And while 60% of people have switched at some point, 20% have never done so.
This is an untapped market, which if exploited, would create huge commercial potential not just for Gocompare, but other companies in the sector, including Confused.com in Wales and Moneysupermarket.
Mr Crummack said part of the challenge was convincing those who “simply cannot be bothered” to switch, even it it meant a cash saving of hundreds of pounds to do so.
He added: “We have to give added motivation to help people switch, a well as simplifying the journey and the hurdles online.”
“We are working on solving that problem. There are a number of hypotheses we are looking at, but it is a little early to share [ideas].”
However, he said there is potential to effectively create a one-stop-shop outsourced technology solution, saving money for consumers across a wider range of products.
Mr Crummack described Gocompare as a “destination company for really great people to be challenged in technology”, adding that it also provides a working environment for “opportunity and creative ideas”.
He added: “I am super-happy with the level of talent we have got in Newport and we are attracting more great talent all the time. And it is accelerating.
“And our goal is to become the primary technology employers in Wales.”
On the financial results, he said that 2016 was a “transformational year”, adding: “We completed the demerger of Gocompare.com from Esure Group plc and strengthened the team at the executive level, whilst delivering strong results.
“As we move forward into 2017, we are focused on continuing to build on our truly independent and unbiased services that help people everywhere save time and money.
“We have made strong, fast progress over the last six months. We have recruited some excellent talent, defined our strategy and restructured our tech, product and marketing teams.
“The board confirms the guidance for the full year 2017 that was given at the time of the listing. Performance will skew towards the second half of the year as our programme of business transformation takes full effect across our performance metrics.”