In the ongoing online property listings competition, Zoopla says it needs to raise more money to put toward marketing itself.
It’s taking on £1.75 million from existing shareholders in return for more equity, led by Atlas and Octopus. And it’s taking on another £1.5 million in debt from Silicon Valley Bank.
The site claims five million monthly uniques, but is facing off against the likes of market-leading Rightmove.
In this competition, each has been advertising on national TV. An August Zoopla campaign boosted visitors by 23 percent. Now TV ad rates are rising again.
Zoopla had already announced an upcoming January prime-time TV campaign last month, when CEO Alex Chesterman (pictured) said: “We will continue to invest whatever it takes to build Zoopla into a household name.”
The campaign will run across ITV (LSE: ITV), Channel 4, Five and Sky’s channels.
Zoopla has acquired OnOneMap.com, DotHomes.com, Extate.com and the PropertyFinder Group.