Consumer champion nets another £19m

Martin Lewis

CONSUMER champion Martin Lewis has made a further £19.2m from the sale of his online financial advice portal MoneySaving Expert.com.

Lewis, who led the campaign against the banks over the PPI scandal, agreed to sell his business to MoneySupermarket.com in June 2012. At the time he took £35m in cash and more than 22 million shares, while the purchaser agreed to pay up to £27m depending on performance, at a later date, to Lewis and some members of his team.

Rather than the £27m, MoneySupermarket said it is paying £20.6m in cash. Of this sum, which represents 76% of the total agreed in 2012, Martin Lewis will pocket £19.2m and the remainder will go to other employees.

Lewis, who last month changed his role from editor-in-chief to become executive chairman of MoneySavingExpert, said a further chunk of cash would be going to charity, including another £1m for Citizens Advice.

He said: “Over the last three years, MoneySavingExpert has continued to thrive and grow, cutting millions of people’s bills and fighting their corner.  I am as excited as ever for the future of the site.  

“On the back of receiving this payment the charity, Citizens Advice, will receive another £1m. Also from my existing charity fund, both the Trussell Trust and the Personal Finance Education Group will get £500,000 to fund their important work in financial triage and education.”

At the time of the sale the Cheshire-born entrepreneur committed £10m to good causes, including £1m for Citizens Advice.

Meanwhile, Deeside-based Moneysupermarket said its third quarter revenues in the three months to September 30 are up 14% year-on-year to £76.2m. So far this financial year revenues are up 16% year-on-year at £220m.

The company said its insurance revenues were flat in the third quarter, due to strong comparatives and increased competition.

Its Money channel (up 23%) saw further growth driven primarily by current accounts and credit cards.

Chief executive Peter Plumb said: “”People are now seeing they can switch online and save money on far more than just car insurance. Our multi-channel offering across three brands has helped nearly five million families save over £200 on average on their bills in 2015, from energy to credit cards and broadband.

“I am pleased Martin Lewis is stepping up to be executive chairman of MoneySavingExpert to continue campaigning for consumers. We continue to grow our investment in the new technology platform to accelerate its roll out across both mobile and desktop.”

 The company said it is confident of meeting its expectations for the full year despite an anticipated slowdown in revenues in the fourth quarter.

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