BGL Group announce acquisition of Dutch comparison site

The BGL group has acquired an independent aggregator website in the Netherlands.

The acquisition of Verzekeringssite.nl follows the group’s 2010 expansion into Europe with the acquisition of Courtanet, a French price comparison website.

BGL group chief executive Peter Winslow said: “The Netherlands has a strong economy, a well-developed e-commerce market and a long tradition of price comparison, so we see this as a positive growth opportunity for us.

“The Netherlands’ car insurance market is around a quarter of the size of the UK market and we believe Verzekeringssite.nl has the potential to develop consumer use of price comparison in car, health and other sectors.”

Verzekeringssite.nl chief executive Erik Hordijik founded the website in 2009 after becoming frustrated trying to find comparable quotes for car insurance. The site currently has over 2.5 million visitors a year and the business employs 21 members of staff at the office in Haarlem, just outside Amsterdam.

Hordijik said: “There is already a healthy appetite from Dutch consumers for independent price comparison with over 50% of them using it to research their car insurance. However, as only 10% actually go on to purchase, there is still substantial room for growth.”