Comparethemarket considers London flotation this year

The South African company BHL is considering selling off a chunk of its Peterborough-based UK division BGL to outside investors

The insurance giant behind Comparethemarket.com is assessing plans for a £1bn London listing after hiring bankers to look at the business.

The South African company BHL is considering selling off a chunk of its Peterborough-based UK division BGL to outside investors. BGL runs the Comparethemarket comparison site – known for its meerkat mascots – as well as other brands such as Minster Law and Dial Direct.

BGL has hired Rothschild to gauge City appetite for the float but is yet to appoint underwriting banks.

“BGL Group can confirm that it is considering listing on the London Stock Exchange; however, at this point, no decisions have been made and there can be no certainty that any process will be formalised,” a spokesman said.

A listing is thought to be pencilled in for the fourth quarter of this year. BGL is likely to keep a majority stake, giving investors the chance to buy between 25 and 49 per cent of the business.

BGL, led by chief executive Matthew Donaldson and chairman Peter Winslow, was founded in 1992 after BHL – which was set up in 1974 – decided to push into the UK. It employs 3,100 people in the UK and has about eight million customers. Comparethemarket was set up in 2006.

BGL made profits of £93.54m in the 12 months ending in June 2014 on revenues of £507m.

It also runs a site similar to Comparethemarket in France, called LesFurets.com, which uses two ferrets called Hervé and François as mascots and has a life insurance brand called Beagle Street, which features a talking dog called Jeremy.