Zoopla Limited welcomes Mark Witherspoon as Strategic Development Director

Zoopla Limited, the UK's leading residential property values resource and latest entrant to the AVM (Automated Valuation Model) market is pleased to announce the immediate appointment of Mark Witherspoon in the role of Strategic Development Director.

Witherspoon comes to Zoopla with extensive experience of the AVM market and related data services, having been formerly CEO of both Hometrack and UKValuation, where he pioneered the adoption of AVMs by UK lenders and helped develop the market for AVMs which now account for over 25% of mortgage valuations in the UK. Most recently Witherspoon has built a unique client base, consulting on data-driven risk management for a range of lenders and corporations and will divide his time between serving these clients and his role at Zoopla.

Working closely with Zoopla's Analytics Team and reporting to Zoopla CEO Alex Chesterman, Witherspoon will be responsible for overseeing and shaping Zoopla's B2B data services proposition, leveraging its unique and proprietary data to provide lenders with the UK's most accurate, market leading automated property valuation tool. His role at Zoopla will allow Witherspoon to utilise his longstanding relationships in the industry to work closely with the UK's leading financial service players to help them better manage their portfolios, make better-informed lending decisions and better understand their risk.

Earlier in his career, Witherspoon also spent a decade at Barclays in executive and directorial roles where he served within the Barclays mortgage business. As Head of Products he created the centralised debt recovery unit, created Barclays Direct Mortgages and the role of Mortgage Specialist within the retail branch network and also held the position as Head of Strategy & Planning for retail banking products.

Witherspoon said:

"I am delighted to be joining the team at Zoopla and am looking forward to developing the proposition and leading further innovation in the property valuation data services field. With Zoopla's sophisticated modelling and unique and proprietary data about UK homes, I am excited about the opportunity to provide clients with access to the Zoopla data for origination, revaluation and risk-assessment purposes."

Commenting on the appointment, Zoopla.co.uk CEO Alex Chesterman said:

"We are thrilled to welcome Mark to our team at this stage in our development. His exceptional expertise in the mortgage finance and AVM fields will further help to solidify Zoopla's position as the leading provider of property value data in the UK and establish Zoopla's position as a leading B2B provider of property value data services across the UK."

- Ends -

Hello. We're Zoopla. A property website and app.

We know you're not just looking for a place to live. You're looking for a home.

Yeah, we've got over a million properties for you to browse.

Tools that let you filter them in all kinds of clever ways.

And reliable house price estimates, so you can be sure you aren't paying over the odds.

But we know you're looking for more than that.

Because that first flat won't just be a 'great investment opportunity'.

It'll be the feeling of starting out on your own.

That extra bedroom won't just mean another £20K on the re-sale price, it'll mean having your sister over to stay.

And that bungalow won't just be a way to release some equity, it will be a chance to spend more time with the grandkids.

We know that searching for a home is about more than just checking its price, location and features (important as all those things are).

What really matters is how it makes you feel.

We know what a home is really worth.

So let us help you find yours.

Zoopla is part of Zoopla Limited which was founded in 2007.

Zoopla Limited, The Cooperage, 5 Copper Row, London, SE1 2LH Registered in England and Wales with Company No. 06074771 VAT Registration number: 191 2231 33 Data Protection number: Z9972266