Go.Compare

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GoCompare.com Ltd.
Go.Compare
Company type
Limited company
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HeadquartersCardiff, Wales, UK
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
Lee Griffin (President)
Kevin Li Ying (CEO)
ServicesFinancial services
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Number of employees
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ParentFuture plc
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GoCompare.com Limited, trading as Go.Compare (formerly GoCompare from 2017 until 2022, and GoCompare.com until 2017, styled as GO.COMPARE) is a Welsh financial services comparison company based in Cardiff, Wales. Its website provides comparison details for financial products including car insurance, home and pet insurance and breakdown cover. Since 2021 it has been owned by Future plc.[2] The company's advertising campaign in 2015 was voted as the "most irritating advertisement."

The company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and is the only comparison website invited to join the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA).[3]

History

Go Compare was established in November 2006. The company's founder was Hayley Parsons, who worked for Admiral Insurance for 14 years,[4] and was formerly head of business development at Confused.com.[5]

It was the first comparison site to focus on features of insurance products rather than just listing prices,[6] which led to the company being invited to become a member of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA).[7]

The company was 49% owned by insurance company esure by 2011[4] and on 8 December 2014, esure acquired Go Compare in a deal worth £95 million.[8] Following the acquisition, Parsons was replaced as CEO by Jon Morrell in March 2015.[4]

In November 2016 the company was the subject of a demerger from esure.[9] In November 2017, ZPG's offer to buy the company for £460 million was rejected.[10]

In December 2017, GoCompare announced the acquisition of MyVoucherCodes, one of the UK's largest online voucher code sites, in a £36.5m deal.[11]

In November 2020, GoCompare agreed to a £594m takeover offer from Future plc, Britain’s biggest magazines publisher.[12]

Since 2021, the company has been led by Lee Griffin, one of its original founders.[13] The company moved to Hodge House in Cardiff in September 2024.[14]

In March 2025, the company acquired the RNWL app, which was subsequently rebranded as Renewal. This app offers a secure platform for storing insurance policies and important documents. The Renewal app collaborates with Go.Compare to deliver a comprehensive solution for consumers' financial management requirements.[15] In July 2025, Go.Compare was reported to be the second most profitable company in Cardiff, reporting a pre-tax profit of £72.3 million in the year to September 2024, up from £46.2 million the previous year.[16]

Services

GoCompare provides a comparison service for vehicle, life insurance in conjunction with its partners Neilson Financial Services,[17] home and pet insurance, and breakdown cover. It also provides comparison services for travel insurance, gas and electricity, broadband, loans, credit cards, mortgages and other financial products through preferred providers such as Energylinx and Experian. On 14 August 2012, the company launched "Covered mag", an online magazine that claims to be "unlike any other financial publication you've ever read".[18]

Advertising

On 19 August 2009, the company launched an advertising campaign featuring a fictional Italian tenor called Gio Compario, played by Wynne Evans.[19] The advertisements feature 'Gio' singing about the company to the tune of "Over There" in various locations. In 2015, the campaign was voted the UK's "most irritating advertisement".[20]

In response to this reaction, Go Compare deliberately subverted the campaign in July 2012 by running a series of adverts where celebrity guests such as Sue Barker, Jimmy Carr, Stuart Pearce, Ray Mears, Louie Spence and Stephen Hawking lined up to "silence" the character of Gio Compario. Marketing officer Kevin Hughes said, "It was risky, but a brand has to listen to its customers."[21] The character returned in July 2015 after an 18-month break, singing as part of what Evans called a "much calmer performance".[22] The character appeared again in 2020 after coronavirus lockdown measures were eased in the UK in July 2020.[23]

In 2023, Go.Compare rebranded to emphasize the ".compare" domain. To launch the rebrand, Go.Compare collaborated with ITV's The Voice and received a bronze award at the 2023 Campaign Media Week Awards for its media sponsorship.[24]

Since 2024, Go.Compare has aimed to modernise its brand, toning down the use of Gio Compario and focusing more on how the brand makes consumers feel when they use the site.[25]

Public image

In September 2007 the company admitted that, on one occasion, an unlawful breach of privacy had taken place with regard to the passing on of data provided by customers. It said that this was the result of a breach of contract by a sub-contractor, Performance Direct, and stated that it would take immediate action to prevent it happening again.[26]

In January 2008 the site was banned for a time by Google due to "irregular inbound links". This resulted in its share of search traffic for the term "car insurance" reducing from 17.49% to 2.31%.[27] Gocompare.com was banned again in April 2009.[28]

In 2015, Go.Compare launched a  tech-driven fraud prevention service, reducing fraud rates.[29] This service was expanded in 2018 with additional layers of protection.[30] In 2019, the company became the only price comparison website to join the Insurance Fraud Bureau, reflecting their dedication to combating fraud.[31]

In August 2019 the company received criticism from road safety organisations after debuting an advert depicting the Gio Compario character crashing into a tree and flipping over.[32] The Advertising Standards Authority received over 70 complaints regarding the advertisement.[33]

In July 2023, Go.Compare announced a four-year deal with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) as back of shirt sponsor, which also supports grassroots rugby development across Wales.[34]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Go Compare. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Future plc acquires GoCo Group plc". Future PLC.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GoCompare". Featurespace. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dunkley, Jamie (1 July 2012). "Go Compare founder Hayley Parsons nets £3.2m dividend". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Start-up compares well for ex-Admiral worker". Western Mail. 21 February 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sion Barry (11 September 2009). "Best business brains receive their awards at celebration of local talent". walesonline.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Go Compare". BIBA.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Newport-based Gocompare.com in £95m takeover deal". BBC News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Gocompare.com Shares Begin Trading After esure Demerger". TD Direct Investing. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Aime Williams, Oliver Ralph (14 November 2017). "ZPG confirms failed £460m bid for GoCompare.com". Financial Times.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GoCompare to buy MyVoucherCodes in £36.5m deal". Telegraph. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sweney, Mark (25 November 2020). "Country Life publisher Future to buy GoCompare for £594m". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lee Griffin | GoCompare Founder". www.gocompare.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Construction, Property / (3 September 2024). "Go.Compare Moves HQ to Hodge House Office Building in Cardiff". Business News Wales. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Go.Compare swoop for Rnwl could hit £63m value in 5 years". www.businessweekly.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Media, Insider (11 July 2025). "Cardiff's most profitable companies revealed - dominated by finance and comparison - Insider Media". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Neilson FS partners with GoCompare to offer protection". www.covermagazine.co.uk. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Covered mag, presented by Gocompare.com". gocompare.com.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GoCompare creates opera singer to take on Comparethemarket's meerkat". marketingmagazine.co.uk.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Burn, Rebecca (22 January 2015). "The most annoying adverts from the past 15 years". Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Marketing and advertising: Small screen, big rewards?". www.postonline.co.uk.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Karen Price (26 July 2015). "Go Compare: The most annoying man on telly is back". walesonline.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Home Comforts Advertisement". Go Compare. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Results 2023". Media Week Awards. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Go Compare brand boss calls comparisons ads 'shouty' as he tones down Gio". The Drum. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Personal details at risk on comparison websites". The Times. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2010.[dead link]
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Halpern, Louis; Roy Murphy (2009). Personal Reputation Management - Making The Internet Work For You. Halpern Cowan Publishing. pp. 162–163. ISBN 978-0-9562892-0-9.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GoCompare Car Insurance - www.gocompare.com - Go Compare Ban?". Money News Shopping. ASAP Ventures. 23 April 2009. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Newsdesk (25 August 2015). "Gocompare.com launches tech-driven fraud service". Insurance Times. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  30. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GoCompare partners with Featurespace to strengthen fraud detection and prevention". GoCompare News. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Connect, Credit (27 November 2019). "GoCompare becomes first comparison website to join Cifas". Credit Connect. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GoCompare Tree". Archived from the original on 20 December 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  33. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Go Compare advert draws complaints over 'insensitive' car crash scene". ITV News.
  34. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Burke, Ollie (17 July 2023). "Welsh Rugby Union Converts Go.compare Partnership". Sport Industry Group. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
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