Zoopla COO, Richard Hayes on Zoopla's Big Competitive Advantage

For years, the British number two portal Zoopla has been operating in the shadow of Rightmove. But for Chief Operating Officer Rich Hayes, that perception is something the company is actively working to change.

In a recent interview on the PPW Podcast, Hayes made it clear that Zoopla is not just playing catch-up—it is repositioning itself as a challenger with a unique competitive edge that Rightmove and OnTheMarket can’t easily replicate: seller leads.

“We've been very focused on growing a homeowner audience, a highly engaged, high-intent homeowner audience,” Hayes explained. “Most agents care a lot about how they target a vendor with precision, how they win new listings at the lowest cost possible. That’s been a big focus for us.”

Zoopla’s MyHome platform has become the foundation of this strategy. Originally designed to help homeowners track their property’s value, MyHome has now evolved into something much more powerful—a vast, engaged pool of potential sellers. According to Hayes, over 700,000 users have declared they want to move within the next 12 months, yet only about half will actually follow through.

“There’s this clear divide between who wants to move and who will actually move,” Hayes said. “If we as a portal can do a great job of greasing the wheel there, helping a higher percentage of those consumers commit to making a move, then we’re playing a far more vital role for estate agents.”

This shift in focus is already paying off. Through recent testing, Zoopla has found that seller leads coming from MyHome convert to a listing at 35%. That level of conversion is unmatched in the UK portal landscape, giving Zoopla a compelling case to take to agents who are looking for better ROI on their marketing spend.

“Our customers want certainty, they want control of their costs,” Hayes said. “If we can deliver high-quality vendor prospects at scale, there is going to be a fair cost associated with that value.”

Below: Watch the full episode of The PPW Pod with Richard Hayes

Standing Out in a Changing Market

Zoopla’s renewed focus on seller leads comes at a time when the UK portal space is becoming more competitive. CoStar’s acquisition of OnTheMarket has introduced a well-funded disruptor with big ambitions, while Rightmove is pushing deeper into mortgages and financial services. But Hayes is not concerned with simply copying competitors.

“When you're a number two portal, you have to differentiate,” he said. “There’s definitely space for more than one portal, but I don’t think there’s space for multiple copycats. You have to offer a clear competitive advantage.”

That differentiation is coming through Zoopla’s investment in AI, data, and a more personalized user experience. The company is working on improving its propensity modeling, using both declared intent and behavioral data to refine how it identifies potential sellers. Hayes believes this technology will not only increase engagement but also make Zoopla’s leads more valuable to agents.

“Portals need to do a better job of growing the market, not just fighting for share,” Hayes said. “The more we can help homeowners gain confidence in moving, the better it is for the whole industry.”

With over four million homeowners already tracking their properties on MyHome, Zoopla sees untapped potential in commercializing this audience. While the company hasn’t fully rolled out its monetization model for seller leads yet, Hayes made it clear that it’s coming soon.

“We haven't built one yet—well, we have built one in the background, but we've not yet launched it,” he revealed. “This is really what we perceive to be our competitive advantage versus our obvious competitors in the UK. And really where we think we're going to stand out.”

As Zoopla continues to evolve its strategy, the message from Hayes is clear: this is no longer just a battle for market share against Rightmove. Instead, Zoopla is positioning itself as the best option for agents looking to generate high-quality seller leads at scale. If the company can successfully deliver on that promise, its reputation as an under-pressure number two may quickly become outdated.