Hayley Parsons recalls the battered, green family Vauxhall Viva of her childhood with amusement. It had no passenger seats. Everybody sat on upturned milk crates. Getting picked up from school was an embarrassment.
She vowed then that one day she would own a red Ferrari and, sure enough, 30 years later she has taken delivery of an F258 Italia (list price, £169,000) — just in time to celebrate the sale of her stake in Gocompare, the price comparison website that she founded eight years ago.
Ms Parsons banked £44 million in cash yesterday from the disposal of her 23 per cent shareholding and told staff that she was exiting as chief executive, partly in order to devote more time to her sons, aged 11 and