More UK Property Listings Consolidation: Zoopla Gobbles Up Globrix From A&N Media

More UK property listings consolidation. Zoopla, which sits at number 2 in the UK (behind market leader Rightmove), has acquired Globrix from A&N Media (DMGT) for an undisclosed sum, and has effectively absorbed its brand with it — users are already being re-directed to Zoopla.co.uk.

It follows a recent spout of M&A activity by Zoopla Property Group, as the company continues to put the heat on Rightmove. In May this year, the company purchased listings and property data supplier UpMyStreet, also for an undisclosed sum, though GigaOm pegged it at less than £1 million ($1.6m). Meanwhile, its merger with the Digital Property Group (operator of PrimeLocation.com and Findaproperty.com), also owned by A&N Media, finally closed in June, following approval by the UK’s regulatory body, the Office Of Fair Trading (OFT).

However, all of this M&A activity comes at a time when the housing market in the UK remains under a lot of pressure, post-financial crisis, with Britain particularly exposed on the property front. So in that sense, this is about consolidation as much as competition, in what looks — for now, at least — like a bigger slice of a slightly stale cake.

To that end, before today’s acquisition, Zoopla already had a partnership with Globrix. Launched in 2008, Globrix.com was originally positioned as a free-to-list property search engine directing traffic to estate agent websites, but thanks to a tie-in with Zoopla, it had since adjusted its model to direct traffic and leads via the Zoopla Property Group portals.