Moneysupermarket to sell consumer data

Advertisers could be given access to a treasure trove of consumer data if plans by the UK’s largest price comparison website go ahead.

According to reports in the Financial Times, Moneysupermarket.com Group is planning to develop a new source of revenue worth tens of millions of pounds by selling customer data, which encompasses a third of the UK population.

Moneysupermarket.com Group’s latest financial results, released this week, reveal that revenue growth this year is expected to be driven partly by exploitation of the group’s data asset.

“The data asset in Moneysupermarket is a real foundation for growth,” said Peter Plumb, chief executive. “I don’t think there’s any other business out there that has the breadth and depth of quote data that we have.”

Plumb said that the company expects to generate £10 million from selling data to insurance companies in 2014.

However, he was quick to dismiss any speculation that the company might be selling individual customer data, instead explaining that Moneysupermarket wants to offer trend data that has been aggregated from numerous transactions over time.

In 2013, Moneysupermarket revenue surpassed £225 million.