Insurer esure goes ahead with plans to spin off Go Compare

Motor and home insurer esure has confirmed plans to spin off its Go Compare price comparison site and line it up for a stock market listing worth around £470m ($625m, €557m).

The moves follows a strategic review by the insurer, which took full control of Go Compare just over a year ago.

Esure said separating both businesses will allow each to focus on separate plans and boost shareholder value.

The FTSE 250 insurer said it plans to float the company on the London Stock Exchange in the final quarter of this year.

Esure chairman Sir Peter Wood said: "We believe that a demerger of Gocompare.com from esure will allow both entities to thrive and reach their full potential".

He added: "Esure and Gocompare.com are distinct businesses, which are both underpinned by strong brands. A demerger will allow the separate management teams to focus on their independent strategies."

Go Compare – whose TV adverts feature the moustached opera singer Gio Compario – is expected to be worth around £470m when it floats on the stock market after the demerger, with analysts pencilling in a range between £393m and £550m.

Shore Capital analyst Eamonn Flanagan said the move made "strategic sense".

The insurance group appointed Matthew Crummack as Newport-based Gocompare's chief executive in June, and he has been beefing up the firm's executive team in advance of a demerger. Wood said he would remain chairman of both businesses.

Esure took full control of Gocompare for £95m in December 2014 by buying the 50% part of the business it did not already own.

Shares in Esure lifted 1% in morning trading, but have jumped 17% this year, valuing the group at £1.2bn.

Gocompare was founded in 2006 by Hayley Parsons, who had previously worked for the insurer Admiral for 14 years.