The founding father of Go Compare, the insurance company renowned for its TV adverts fronted by fictitious opera singer Gio Compario, could collect greater than 100m if she pushes ahead with promises to sell the insurance coverage comparison site.
Hayley Parsons, who founded Go Compare in 2006 and holds a 23% stake during the company, is reported to experience hired accountants Grant Thornton to conduct a strategic review, such as chance of a sell-off.
If she pushes ahead with all the sale it will eventually cap a phenomenal rags-to-rich tale. The Cwmbran-born 38-year-old left school at 16 with only five GCSEs, but stormed on the ranks at Cardiff-based insurer Admiral, where she handled their own insurance comparison site, Confused.com.
She quit Admiral and founded Go Compare in 2006. Go Compare now supplies a quote every second and reported pre-tax profits of 34.7m, up 15%, during the past year. Parsons, who describes Go Compare as “my baby”, acquired 3.2m in dividends. The firm have been priced at 500m.
Parsons, who received an OBE for services into the economy in the New Year’s honours list, told the Sunday Times: “I’ve done fine for the Welsh girl on the valleys, eh?”
The mother-of-two is believed to get weighing up her options in advance of a planned stock game flotation of car insurer Esure, which owns 49% of Go Compare, as per the Independent on Sunday. Esure, that is fronted by Michael Winner in its own much-parodied TV adverts, claims it’s got “no offers to increase its stake” in Go Compare.
But industry rumours have speculated that Peter Wood, the founding father of Esure, may make a procedure for opt for the 51% of Go Compare his company does not already own.
Wynne Evans, the Welsh tenor who plays mustachioed opera singer Gio Compario, has topped the classical album charts this year thanks to his starring role while in the Go Compare adverts.
Go Compare and Grant Thornton declined to comment.