Zoopla has appointed former senior executive Paul Whitehead (main picture) as its new CEO after he returned from collapsed online car retailer Cazoo.

Focussing on used cars and unsuccessful in its bid to disrupt the motor trade, it was the brainchild of Alex Chesterman, who was also the founder of Zoopla.

Whitehead will work alongside parent company Houseful CEO Charlie Bryant to help the portal in its battle for agents with Rightmove and OnTheMarket.

Until recently Zoopla has been part of Houseful and didn’t have its own CEO and CFO. Recently it was separated operationally from Houseful and it has now been decided to “give Zoopla dedicated leadership”.

Bryant will focus on Houseful’s property data firm Hometrack.

Advisory capacity

Whitehead was CEO and COO at Cazoo, which was launched in 2019. After leaving Zoopla in 2018, he was initially Commercial Director at uSwitch before it was sold to ZPG before joining Cazoo.

Whitehead has been working with Zoopla in an advisory capacity for the last three months before taking on the CEO role. The portal has also announced the internal appointment of Sam Fletcher as Chief Finance Officer.

Major customers

The portal says three major customers have signed new contracts in the last month, taking its total estate agency branch ‘wins’ in Q1 to 450.

One of these new customers includes Leaders Romans Group, which has chosen to return after a year with OnTheMarket.

Rich Hayes, Chief Operating Officer, will continue to lead the day-to-day operations of the business. Meanwhile, Alex Rose has been appointed as Commercial Director,

I am delighted to return to Zoopla, a UK digital business with an incredible brand.”

Whitehead says: “I am delighted to return to Zoopla, a UK digital business with an incredible brand and consumer experience built over the last 17 years that attracts millions of consumers each month.

“My focus is on building upon the clear competitive advantage that Zoopla has in delivering high-quality buyers and vendors to our customers,” he says.

“Our customer wins this year speak volumes about the results Zoopla consistently delivers, as well as exceptional value and access to a powerful audience of serious home movers.

“I am also pleased to welcome Sam Fletcher to Zoopla. She is already very familiar with our business and I look forward to us working closely together.”

Big estate agency returns to Zoopla after 12-month ‘break’