Online listings firm acquires last remaining competitor

Adam Tinworth

Propex, the online listings and investment exchange, has acquired UKPiP, its last remaining direct competitor.

UKPiP will continue to operate under its own name, but will be merged with Propex's PrimePitch in a revamp early in 2006.

The share-only transaction will see the 12 agency shareholders of UKPiP, including Lewis & Partners, Lewis Ellis, Holley Blake and Michael Elliot, become shareholders of Propex, boosting the total number to 50.

Paul Marples, managing director of Propex, said: "The online listing of properties and property investments is coming of age.

"Whilst the commercial property market once had a healthy cynicism of new technology, it is now accepted that, for most types of investment property, marketing to a wide audience increases liquidity and creates higher sales prices."

"Both websites have been successful, having helped to market and sell nearly 2,000 property investments with a combined value of over £1.5bn," said Stuart Loggie of UKPiP.

"The new, combined listing service will provide an even more powerful marketing resource for the whole investment market."

Both UKPiP and Propex were set up in 2001 at the height of property industry enthusiasm for internet services. Propex merged with direct UKPiP competitor PrimePitch in 2002, and has acquired a number of other internet services, including retail site Shopproperty in the years since.

The acquisition narrows the online property field to three significant players: Propex; Focus, now owned by US listings giant CoStar, and EGPropertylink, owned by the same parent company as Estates Gazette.