MoneySuperMarket
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA UK price-comparison and money-saving platform covering financial services, insurance, energy and related household spending.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
MoneySuperMarket is a British technology-led price-comparison brand operated within MONY Group plc. It helps consumers compare and, where available, switch products across financial services and household spending categories. Its comparison areas have included personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, car insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and energy tariffs. The platform generally earns revenue through commercial relationships with participating providers when users complete qualifying actions, although the precise commercial terms vary by product and provider. The business began in 1987 when Simon Nixon and Duncan Cameron established a mortgage subscription business. During the 1990s, Nixon identified the potential of the expanding internet to make financial comparison available directly to consumers. The company subsequently developed an online service for comparing personal loans and credit cards, later adding mortgage comparison. As the web business became the central activity, the traditional mortgage subscription operation, known as Mortgage 2000, was closed. Cameron, who had been responsible for the information-technology side of Mortgage 2000, became a silent partner from 2002. The group broadened beyond financial comparison through the launch of TravelSupermarket, initially announced in 2000 and later operating as a sister travel-comparison site. The brand became one of the UK's most visible comparison businesses through large-scale television advertising, often using surreal humour, celebrity appearances, distinctive characters and popular music. Campaigns featuring characters such as HaggleHero, Bill, Dave, Colin, Skeletor and He-Man helped associate the brand with the idea that consumers could save money by comparing deals. MoneySuperMarket became a public company in 2007 after an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. In the same year, Simon Nixon acquired Duncan Cameron's stake. The wider group later expanded its consumer-advice and savings capabilities by acquiring MoneySavingExpert.com in 2012. MoneySavingExpert retained editorial independence, while its services included consumer guidance and the Cheap Energy Club, which monitors energy tariffs and supports switching decisions. The group subsequently acquired Maple Syrup Media, the owner of cashback website Quidco, in 2021, adding cashback to its comparison and advice activities. The brand sits within a broader portfolio that has included MoneySuperMarket, TravelSupermarket, IceLolly, Decision Tech, Quidco and MoneySavingExpert. In 2024, the listed holding company changed its name from Moneysupermarket Group plc to MONY Group plc, reflecting a business that had developed beyond the original MoneySuperMarket comparison website. MoneySuperMarket nevertheless remains the group's principal consumer-facing financial-comparison brand. Its competitive proposition is convenience, breadth of comparison and the prospect of reducing recurring household costs, while its limitations include the fact that comparison sites may not display every product available in a market.
History
MoneySuperMarket traces its origins to a mortgage subscription business established in 1987 by Simon Nixon and Duncan Cameron. The business expanded during the 1990s, but its most important strategic change came when Nixon saw that wider consumer access to the internet could support direct, web-based comparison. The company developed an online service for personal loans and credit cards and subsequently added mortgage comparison. As the online business grew, the traditional Mortgage 2000 subscription operation was closed. Cameron, who had worked on its technology, ceased to have a full-time operating role and became a silent partner from 2002. The company continued to broaden its category coverage and announced TravelSupermarket in 2000, applying the comparison model to travel. The travel service later operated as a sister website and became associated with humorous television advertising and celebrity-led creative work. The company received early recognition for rapid growth, appearing in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 in 2002 and being identified as one of the UK's fastest-growing technology businesses for the 2000–2002 period. Simon Nixon was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the National Business Awards in 2003. By the middle of the 2000s, MoneySuperMarket had become a major UK comparison destination. Contemporary reporting in 2007 described it as processing a substantial share of UK price comparisons, while also noting that comparison sites did not necessarily include every product available in categories such as household and car insurance. In June 2007, Nixon acquired Cameron's 47 percent stake for £162 million. Later that month, the company completed an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange at a valuation reported at approximately £1 billion. Public-company status enabled the group to invest in additional consumer brands and technologies while maintaining MoneySuperMarket as its central financial-comparison service. A major portfolio development occurred in 2012, when the group acquired MoneySavingExpert.com for £87 million. Founded by financial journalist Martin Lewis in 2003, MoneySavingExpert provided consumer-focused financial information and tools. Following the acquisition, the site remained editorially independent and Lewis continued as chief editor. Its Cheap Energy Club helped users monitor tariffs and identify opportunities to switch. In 2015, the company announced that Lewis would reduce his overall holding in the group to 1.5 percent. Management changed several times in the following years. Mark Lewis was announced as the successor to Peter Plumb in 2016 and took over in May 2017. Peter Duffy became chief executive in September 2020. Meanwhile, the group continued to develop a multi-brand model including TravelSupermarket, IceLolly, Decision Tech and MoneySavingExpert. On 19 October 2021, it announced the acquisition of Maple Syrup Media, the owner of Quidco, adding a well-known UK cashback service to the portfolio. The reported consideration was £87 million in cash plus a possible £14 million deferred payment. On 2 May 2024, the group announced that its holding-company name would change to MONY Group plc, effective 20 May 2024. The renaming was intended to reflect the evolution from a single price-comparison website into a wider collection of comparison, advice and cashback businesses. MoneySuperMarket remains an active consumer brand within that group, focused primarily on helping UK users compare financial products, insurance and household costs.
- 2024
Parent renamed MONY Group
[1]Moneysupermarket Group plc changed its corporate holding name to MONY Group plc.
- 2021
Quidco acquisition announced
[1]The group announced its purchase of Maple Syrup Media, the owner of Quidco.
- 2012
MoneySavingExpert acquisition
[1]The group acquired MoneySavingExpert.com and added consumer advice and energy-monitoring capabilities.
- 2007
Initial public offering
[1]MoneySuperMarket floated on the London Stock Exchange in one of the UK's notable technology listings of the period.
- 2002
Recognition for rapid growth
[1]The company appeared in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and was identified among the UK's fastest-growing technology businesses for the preceding period.
- 2000
TravelSupermarket announced
[1]The company announced a travel price-comparison service extending its model beyond financial products.
- 1987
Mortgage subscription business founded
[1]Simon Nixon and Duncan Cameron founded the business that later developed into MoneySuperMarket.
Products and positioning
A mass-market UK comparison and money-saving platform that combines financial-product discovery, household-bill switching and consumer advice.
Financial and household price comparison
MoneySuperMarket
The core platform allows UK consumers to compare products and offers across categories including personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, energy, car insurance, home insurance and travel insurance. It is designed to reduce search costs and make provider pricing easier to compare, although availability depends on category and participating providers.
Travel price comparison · 2000
TravelSupermarket
A sister comparison service focused on travel products, including package holidays and related travel pricing. Its purpose is to present competing offers and clarify differences between price structures so consumers can evaluate travel options more easily.
Consumer financial advice · 2003
MoneySavingExpert.com
Founded by Martin Lewis in 2003 and acquired by the group in 2012, MoneySavingExpert provides consumer-oriented financial information, practical saving guidance and tools. The site retained editorial independence after the acquisition and also operated the Cheap Energy Club for tariff monitoring and switching support.
Cashback
Quidco
Quidco is a UK cashback website acquired through the purchase of Maple Syrup Media. It complements the group's comparison and advice activities by returning part of qualifying merchant commissions to users who shop through the service.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Money Calm
United Kingdom
A campaign introduced a calm bull remaining composed amid chaotic situations, using the idea of 'money calm' as a humorous expression of financial control.
Outcome. Developed the brand platform around emotional reassurance as well as monetary savings.
- 2019Epic Strut and parachuting cat
United Kingdom
A new campaign launched alongside a refreshed logo and featured a parachuting cat, with narration by Matt Berry.
Outcome. Refreshed the visual identity while retaining an absurdist tone.
- 2018Action Man
United Kingdom
Action Man was shown dancing in another humorous television execution built around an unexpected contrast between a traditionally heroic character and an ordinary money-saving message.
Outcome. Maintained the brand's character-led creative strategy.
- 2017Skeletor and He-Man
United Kingdom
Licensed Masters of the Universe characters appeared dancing to popular music, connecting nostalgic entertainment properties with the brand's comic savings message.
Outcome. Added recognizable pop-culture characters to the brand's high-impact television advertising.
- 2016Epic Squads
United Kingdom
Dave and Colin returned with groups of similarly styled supporters in a campaign built around rivalry and coordinated dancing.
Outcome. Expanded the established characters into a broader advertising universe.
- 2015Dave
United Kingdom
The campaign showed Dave confidently strutting in an unconventional outfit to a popular song. It attracted 1,513 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, which did not uphold the complaint.
Outcome. Generated substantial public attention while the regulator found no breach requiring action.
- 2015Colin
United Kingdom
A dancing construction worker performed exaggerated dance moves, including a worm and a split, in a workplace setting.
Outcome. Continued the brand's use of memorable, humorous characters to increase recognition.
- 2014Epic Elephunk
United Kingdom
An advertisement showed a giant elephant walking through Manhattan with Graeme riding on its back, using an exaggerated spectacle to dramatise the brand's personality.
Outcome. Strengthened the recurring 'epic' creative identity.
- 2013So MoneySuperMarket
United Kingdom
A campaign introduced Bill, accompanied by an army of cats, and used the phrase 'so MoneySuperMarket' to connect eccentric visual storytelling with the promise of saving money.
Outcome. Extended the brand's surreal, character-based advertising platform.
- 2010HaggleHero
United Kingdom
Television advertisements featured comedian Omid Djalili as HaggleHero, presenting price comparison through a humorous character-led format.
Outcome. Helped establish the brand's distinctive comedic advertising style.
Brand decisions
2024
Rename holding company to MONY GroupStrategyBackground
The group had developed beyond its original single comparison website through advice, travel, technology and cashback businesses.
Action taken
Moneysupermarket Group plc changed its corporate holding name to MONY Group plc, effective 20 May 2024.
Aftermath
MoneySuperMarket continued as a principal consumer brand within a broader multi-brand group.
2021
Acquire Quidco owner Maple Syrup MediaM&ABackground
The group was expanding from comparison and advice into cashback and broader money-saving services.
Action taken
The company announced the acquisition of Maple Syrup Media, owner of Quidco.
Aftermath
Cashback was added to the group's portfolio of consumer money-saving services.
Reported acquisition consideration. £87 million cash plus a possible £14 million deferred payment (2021 acquisition)
2012
Acquire MoneySavingExpert.comM&ABackground
The group sought to broaden its consumer value proposition beyond transactional comparison.
Action taken
MoneySavingExpert.com was acquired, with the site retaining editorial independence.
Aftermath
The group gained a major consumer-advice platform and the Cheap Energy Club service.
Acquisition consideration. £87 million (2012 acquisition)
2007
Close traditional mortgage subscription operationOtherBackground
The web-based comparison business had become the company's strategic focus, reducing the need for the earlier Mortgage 2000 subscription model.
Action taken
The traditional mortgage subscription business was closed and resources were directed toward online comparison.
Aftermath
MoneySuperMarket developed as a consumer-facing internet comparison platform.
2007
Initial public offeringOtherBackground
The company had become a major online comparison business and sought a public-market listing.
Action taken
The company listed on the London Stock Exchange through an initial public offering.
Aftermath
The business became a publicly traded component of the UK market and later entered the FTSE 250.
Reported valuation at IPO. Approximately £1 billion (2007 IPO)
Recent events
Reported
Moneysupermarket.com agrees to acquire Quidco[3]
Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group announced that it had agreed to acquire all issued share capital of Maple Syrup Media Ltd., trading as Quidco.
MoneySuperMarket sponsors Channel 4’s Film on 4 package[4]
Channel 4 announced MoneySuperMarket as the new sponsor of its Film on 4 network film package, covering films aired across Channel 4, E4, More4, pre-9pm on Film4, and the All 4 streaming collection. The partnership is for 12 months.
Sources4 sources
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