Comparethemarket parent's profits rise

BGL Group, the owner of comparison site comparethemarket.com, made a pre-tax profit of £62m for the year ended 30 June 2010, up 15% on the £54m profit it made in the 2008/2009 financial year. Number of customers increased to 3.5m from 2.7m.

The group attributed the increased profit to growth at comparethemarket.com, strong cost control and supplier management. The group said the comparison site experienced 70% growth against a market growt hrate of 20%, adding that the meerkat marketing campaign continued to play an important role in the success.

“During the year our margins came under significant pressure, and with customers still driven to control spending, our challenge was to closely manage pricing and find new ways to drive value," said BGL group chief executive Peter Winslow in a statement. "We continue to invest heavily in the future growth of the Group. ”