Advising Zoopla on acquisition of Yourkeys

We have advised Zoopla, the UK’s most comprehensive property destination, on its acquisition of Yourkeys, the multi-award-winning property software solution used by housebuilders.

The acquisition will see 25 experts from Yourkeys, including CEO Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, join Zoopla and see Yourkeys join Zoopla’s market-leading suite of software products including its next generation Alto product.

This complex deal drew on deep expertise from across the firm's Private Equity, Employee Incentives, Tax, Commercial Technology & Data, Banking & Finance, Employment, Pensions, Real Estate, Disputes & Investigations, and Competition, EU & Trade teams.

Amelia Guilfoyle, GC, Zoopla said: "The acquisition of Yourkeys will complement our existing market-leading software offering. The deal was made possible by the excellent work of Ed and his team, demonstrating again Taylor Wessing's expertise in the technology sector and particularly the fast-moving PropTech market, coupled with creative and commercial M&A advice."

Private Equity partner Ed Waldron, who led the Taylor Wessing deal team alongside senior associate Alex Walker, said: "This deal builds on our strong relationship with Zoopla. This is a transformative, tech-driven deal and underlines the innovative companies we work with on a regular basis. I am looking forward to seeing how the acquisition of Yourkeys enriches Zoopla's offering."

Our Private Equity team is well known in the private equity community as mid-market deal experts, both for primary buyouts and for bolt-on transactions advising private equity portfolio companies. We advise on private equity deals of all levels of sophistication and speed, with an international team that is technically astute, highly commercial and practical. 

We also recently advised Zoopla-owned Hometrack on the acquisition of the mortgage automation arm of EDM group.

Ed Waldron and Alex Walker were supported by Private Equity associate Laura Roberts, trainee solicitor Alex Stones and paralegal Sarah Palmer. The Private Equity team was further supported by the following specialist teams:

Commercial Technology & Data

• Siân Skelton, Partner
• Matthew Ives, Associate
• Tamara Mackay-Temesy, Associate

Employment

• Helen Farr, Partner
• Katie Davenport, Associate
• Nadine Simpson-Ataha, Associate

Pensions

• Mark Smith, Partner
• Georgina Wardrop, Senior Associate
• Hadassah Shulman, Senior Associate
• Rachael Potts, Trainee Solicitor

Tax

• Graham Samuel-Gibbon, Partner
• Marina Constanti, Associate

Employee Incentives

• Anna Humphrey, Partner
• Marianna Vlas, Associate
• Megan Geiser, Trainee Solicitor

Banking & Finance

• Martin Yells, Partner

Real Estate

• Emma Oakley, Partner

Disputes & Investigations

• Katie Chandler, Partner
• Georgina Jones, Senior Associate

Competition, EU & Trade

• Paolo Palmigiano, Partner