UK local listings and networking startup WeLoveLocal has hit a payday (of sorts) via a £450,000 majority stake taken in it by radio network GCap Media plc (GCap), itself currently subject to a takeover bid.
GCap plans to combine the site with its own network of local radio brands, but in truth, the strategy is relatively untested. GCap CEO Fru Hazlitt said WLL is showing “excellent audience growth” and the move will allow it to “access new classified revenue streams.” So in other words this is a classified ads play, not an attempt to by the next Bebo.
It’s a shrewd move on the part of the WLL founders for a site which only officially launched nationwide in December 2007, although is not quite the millions they might have dreamed of when they launched the site. But the local market is a highly competitive arena and hard to stay in without significant capital.