After completing a series of acquisitions over the past two years, REA Group is just getting started, according to chief executive Owen Wilson. The group is looking into owning no less than the full range of property-associated offerings in order to achieve its double-digit revenue goals and expansion plans.
REA Group has been active in mergers and acquisitions in the past few years, acquiring a controlling stake of its India business, partnering with fintech Simpology, and completing its acquisition of Mortgage Choice. The group has also invested in Property.com.au, a digital database of all information related to properties, including valuation, transaction history, and public transport options. In an interview with The Australian Financial Review (AFR), chief executive Owen Wilson said REA Group would expand its broker footprint and aimed to make Mortgage Choice the “clear No. 1” brand for consumers.
“I don’t see a world where we don’t do any M&A going forward,” Wilson told AFR. “What you’ll notice from each of our acquisitions is that each one of them has helped to accelerate one of our strategies … We could have applied for a mortgage broking licence and started from scratch. But by acquiring a couple of businesses, we absolutely accelerated that. So, anything that helps us accelerate is very interesting to us. If it doesn’t accelerate it, we may as well build it.”
REA Group intends to grow its financial services offering well into the third quarter of the year, noting insurance as an example of what the group has yet to offer with many “elements that we can still go into”.
