Fairfax Media’s Domain Group has acquired 50 per cent of Residential Connections Pty Ltd, which owns the market leading Compare & Connect residential utilities comparison and connections business.
The acquisition follows the recent investments in Oneflare, an online trades and services marketplace, and Beevo, a commercial utilities connections business, and are part of Domain Group’s strategy to expand beyond classifieds and into real estate related services.
Compare & Connect, which was founded in 2014, develops and operates platforms to help consumers compare and connect utility services for their existing homes or when moving.
Unlike competitors who offer only a limited number of options, Compare & Connect allows consumers to compare and choose from a range of suppliers to ensure they get the best product at the best price.
The Chief Executive Officer of Domain Group, Mr Antony Catalano, said Compare & Connect had a solid market position, and was well placed to accelerate growth on the back of recent major national contract wins with LJ Hooker and PRD Nationwide. Compare & Connect also powers a number of major Victorian real estate brands, including Marshall White, Biggin & Scott and Stockdale & Leggo, as well as the energy section of the rapidly growing comparethemarket.com.au comparison site for consumers.
“Compare & Connect is the only independent end to end platform offering movers the ability to compare suppliers’ packages when they decide to connect utilities through their real estate agent,” he said.
“Connection service providers typically connect movers with one preferred supplier, and comparison platforms lack the integration with the agent network.
“Given its unique product advantages, this investment enables Domain to enter into the residential utilities connection space with a superior offering, demonstrating our continued commitment to partner with the real estate industry and establish a market-leading position.”
The Chief Executive of Residential Connections, Mr Neil Saligrama, said the partnership with Domain Group would allow the business to accelerate product and business development along with best in class consumer experience.
“Supported by Domain’s extensive agent and consumer audience and leveraging Domain’s sales force, we expect to accelerate market share growth and lead generation through integration of the Compare & Connect platform into Domain’s agent-facing systems and network of consumer-facing platforms,” Mr Saligrama said.
“This will help unlock revenue in new areas leveraging Domain’s transaction and lead generation capability and our products and relationships.”
Mr Catalano said Domain Group’s recent investments were consistent with the strategic objective of broadening Domain’s offering across the property lifecycle.
“Inarguably, Domain Group has the best suite of real estate media assets in the country, and we will continue to look at opportunities to build on that leadership position,” he said