Gocompare founder scoops £20m dividend
HAYLEY Parsons, founder of Newport-based Gocompare, received dividends of around £20m from the price-comparison website in the last year before its stock market float.
The Sunday Times reported £85.8m was paid out to Gocompare owners, which was an increase of 70% of the previous year.
It was, the newspaper says, partfinanced by £73m in loans.
Ms Parsons, sold her remaining stake in Gocompare for around £44m in 2014 to Esure.
One of Wales’ most successful entrepreneurs, Ms Parsons recently took a significant minority equity interest in Cardiff-based InspireTec, a group of tech and digital firms from serial tech entrepreneur Simon Powell.
InspireTec is made up of travel technology software firm Comtec, e-commerce venture Eysys, financial and management systems specialist Clarius Finance and creative agency Sequence.
It has a turnover of £6.5m, which Mr Powell said recently is forecast to rise to £9m this year.
It was the latest investment from Ms Parsons, who recently backed Cardiff-based online career and learning venture Careercake.com.
Ms Parsons invested into Careercake to support its ambitious expansion plans in the UK and overseas.
Careercake was founded by Aimee Bateman alongside fellow founder of Gocompare founder Kevin Hughes.
In 2010 Ms Bateman, disillusioned by her job in corporate recruitment, handed in her notice, went online and bought a camera for £20 and started making career advice videos, posting them for free on YouTube.
Careercake has had more than six million viewers of its YouTube career advice channel as well as over 16,000 subscribers.