Groupola.com – yet another Groupon clone launches in the UK

[UK] A new website launches in the UK today that uses “the power of group-buying to save consumers up to 90% off the best things to do, see, eat and buy.”

Sounds familiar? Yep, it’s yet another Groupon clone.

Only this time, Groupola.com is already making claims to be the biggest group buying site in the country. That’s because it’s launching simultaneously in 8 of the largest cities across the UK, including London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

This makes it immediately standout from rivals such as Berlin-based MyCityDeal and Groupon itself, both of which have a UK reach currently limited to London.

More noteworthy is Groupola’s founder, Mark Pearson, who has a pretty good track record of offering consumers the best deals and making money on top, having founded MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, the leading discount voucher site in the UK.

For those who aren’t familiar with the group buying model, here’s how Groupola.com works:

Each day, the site will feature a deal in each of the eight cities it is launching in. Then if enough people commit, the company offering it will honour the deal, which will be anything from 50-90% off the full price. If not enough people sign up to that particular deal, the offer is withdrawn and no money passes hands.

Examples include, savings at restaurants, spa days, beauty and hairdressing, experience days, sport and leisure activities, theatre tickets, and concerts.

Along with daily deals, Groupola also appears to have weekly offers too, with a longer window for group buyers. Virgin Balloon Flights is the current partner, offering 50% off a four hour hot-air balloon experience if more than 25 people sign-up. It will cost £149 and includes a copy of Sir Richard Branson’s ‘Losing My Virginity’ autobiography. That’s a lot of hot air for your pound.

Oh and to celebrate the launch of Groupola, the site is running a raffle to give away a number of Apple iPads to those that sign-up to its newsletter.