Compare The Market: Higher premiums help profit pass £200m

Compare The Market increased its revenue by almost £100m thanks to higher insurance premiums leading to more customers switching providers.
The Peterborough-headquartered company has reported a revenue of £563.7m for the year to 30 June, 2024.
The figure comes after the comparison site posted sales of £467.5m in its prior financial year.
New accounts for Compare The Market filed with Companies House also show its pre-tax profit jumped from £152.3m to £221.6m over the same period.
But despite the increased financial performance of the company in the year the average number of people employed by Compare The Market fell from 804 to 767.
Compare The Market boosted by switchers
A statement signed off by the board said its turnover rise “reflects progress in the delivery of the company’s strategy as well as high and increasing premiums resulting in higher switching rates in motor insurance and other general insurance products”.
Compare The Market added: “The travel market has remained strong, with sustained post-Covid demand contributing, alongside growth in other areas, to an overall increase in customer numbers by 12 per cent to 8.4m.
“Conditions in the energy market remain challenging and while we are beginning to see a very modest return to energy switching, revenues remain immaterial.”
The results come after Compare The Market’s majority owner, Stamford-headquartered BHL (UK) Holdings, reported a revenue of £641.6m for the year to 30 June 2024, up from £534.6m in 2023.
The group, which owns 80 per cent of the brand, also increased its pre-tax profit from £94.6m to £172.6m.
Compare The Market was founded in 2006 by Matthew Donaldson and Peter Winslow and is part of the BGL Group.
Its main competitors in the UK include Moneysupermarket.com, Confused.com, Uswitch and Go.Compare.
In October 2024, City AM reported that helping customers switch their car and home insurance providers saw sales surge at Uswitch during its latest financial year.