San Francisco tech giants snap up Norwich financial site

A Norwich tech-firm has been bought out in a multi-million pound deal by a San Francisco comparison site which serves 160 million people every year.

Know Your Money, which was launched in 2004 by John Ellmore and Jason Tassie, has been purchased by US company NerdWallet for an undisclosed sum.

Through the acquisition, Know Your Money and NerdWallet together will aim to provide the most comprehensive financial comparison website in the UK, delivering financial content, tools and independent reviews to help consumers make better financial decisions.

MORE: New bar with bathtub in the entrance is already selling outMr Tassie said: “We’re looking forward to joining forces with NerdWallet and building on the fantastic work our team has done helping consumers learn about, evaluate and compare financial products. Working with NerdWallet will help us accelerate our existing growth plans, expanding our content library, tools and guides to offer users more support in financial decision making. Know Your Money and NerdWallet are perfectly aligned in their goal of empowering people to make better, more-informed financial decisions.”

His co-founder Mr Ellmore added: “Seeing our business flourish has been an incredibly rewarding journey. We feel privileged to have built a company that has provided an exceptional service to UK consumers and businesses, giving them the financial choices they need now more than ever during this challenging period of recession.”

Know Your Money will become a NerdWallet subsidiary and all employees will stay on, including Ellmore and Tassie.

Tim Chen, chief executive of NerdWallet said: “The pandemic has created a surge in demand for financial guidance and products in areas like refinance and investing — we’ve seen record visits to our site in these areas this year. Expansion to the UK is an important step towards our vision of a world where every consumer makes financial decisions with confidence.

“Consumers are looking for a greater level of help, and with Know Your Money, we want to be there providing the guidance to as many people, across as many topics and in as many places as possible. Know Your Money has done a fantastic job helping consumers find and compare financial products and we’re looking forward to accelerating that work through this partnership.”

NerdWallet’s acquisition of Know Your Money is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

The shareholders of Know Your Money were advised by Sequence Advisers and law firm Mills & Reeve.