MSE Discussion: MoneySavingExpert.com to join the MoneySupermarket.com group

barmonkey

Alot of people moaning about every aspect of all this on many many threads, well if you dont like it fek off somewhere else, you dont have to be here, you arnt payed to be here, you dont pay to be here, its a big old world out there in internet land.

StaffsSW

meher wrote: »

. By charity I meant, this site always set aside a chunk of the revenue towards charities, you could say that he gave charities on everyones behalf.

Their own published accounts reveal that the sums involved are more fractional, than a chunk given the revenue of the main site - http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends20/0001121320_ac_20110331_e_c.pdf

It also suggests that the charity has more money in the bank than they paid out to charitable casues.
3 years worth of accounts are here if you want to dig further - http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1121320&SubsidiaryNumber=0

pippitypop

WarriorPrincess wrote: »

Just posted similar on another thread - but maybe more will see it here. Surely MSE could have been floated? Newsletter recipients & forum members could all have had the chance to own a little bit of the site - & it could have remained independent. Far more in the spirit of MSE surely, but maybe would have cost more to set up?

Anyone know if this was considered?

Agreed, it appeared Martin did what was right for him rather than the community. Would be fine if he was just another businessman, but he championed himself and the site as a consumer v. the big companies only to sell out.

JamesK10

40 pages, wow! I take ML's advice with a pinch of salt just because I didn't have the discipline for stoozing the first time around or now, and rate tarting, the other big trend around the time of the start of MSE, just resulted in halved rewards on credit cards so really, I'd read all of Martin's advice but not jump on any bandwagons anymore unless they were right for me.

So now the site has been sold, yes you have to watch what you post about and make sure you're not going into too much detail if posting under your real name but that applies to any public site/forum on the web. The weekly email goes to the junk account anyway so I'll flip a coin on that and see if anything about it changes eg being more than weekly for a start.

Laze

A forum such as this builds e-communities and website prowess. In turn, one of us have been brought. So this forum for as long as it is here can still be as good as it has always been.

Inevitably, as soon as one "independent" thing dies, another is born from the ashes... I'm sure a couple of sites claiming to be the "true successor" or "truly independent" will pop up soon.

pin

Hi

I'm a very old time poster, but no longer visit this site (forum) as I no longer live in the UK (and haven't done so for the past six odd years). If I was still living in the UK, I would without a doubt me more active in the forums. I have fond memories of when I used to be a much more active user of the forums and the site saved me lots of money with all the various tips, etc.

So I read about the sale of this site via the news and TBH am quite sad. This was a site set up as a "champion" for consumers, so to be sold off, its a shame.

However at the end of the day it is a personal site for the owner to do what he pleases. I guess he wanted his pay day, and he has succeeded. Whether this site will remain a success, as it is now owned by a bigger company, is to be seen.

The argument is that this bigger company will provide more resources, but at the same time editorial independence remains. We will just have to see.

As I understand it, the success of this site has been in the forums. If forum users decide to go, then I think the site will end and the new owners will have made a loss on their investment.

What I do find interesting is some information from this article:

http://www.thelawyer.com/herbert-smith-and-olswang-advise-on-moneysavingexpert-sale/1012831.article

Now, I have not had the chance to go over all forty pages of this thread, so apologies in advance if some of the topics from the linked article have been dealt with.

From the article, it says that the lawyers have been involved in the deal for the best part of a year. This means ML was probably talking to MoneySupermarket for at least 18 months. Another things I've noted from the article is that 50-60% of MSE's revenue derives from MoneySupermarket. That is quite a high proportion of someone's revenue coming from one source. I suspect ML and MoneySupermarket have had quite a close relationship for several years.

In any case, I guess, I wish ML well in realising value from this website, but at the same time I feel sad that this website is no longer independent. I suspect with MSE being part of MoneySupermarket things will change for this site. Whether it for the better or worse, I guess only time will tell.....

Lotus-eater

So the OFT and MS's shareholders need to OK it then.

I presume they must have a good idea that both will, but if for some reason they don't, Martin will have upset alot of people for no reason. And then I suppose we'll have to wonder who he will try to sell to next.

aliasojo

Lotus-eater wrote: »

And then I suppose we'll have to wonder who he will try to sell to next.

And after the backlash (and some pretty unfair and personal comments that have been thrown at him and his family), I wouldn't be surprised if he cared a little less and was less choosy about his buyer.

I wouldn't blame him.

terra_ferma

pin wrote: »

Hi

---

What I do find interesting is some information from this article:

http://www.thelawyer.com/herbert-smith-and-olswang-advise-on-moneysavingexpert-sale/1012831.article

---

From the article, it says that the lawyers have been involved in the deal for the best part of a year. This means ML was probably talking to MoneySupermarket for at least 18 months. Another things I've noted from the article is that 50-60% of MSE's revenue derives from MoneySupermarket. That is quite a high proportion of someone's revenue coming from one source. I suspect ML and MoneySupermarket have had quite a close relationship for several years.

---

So in a way not much will change, they 'own' MSE anyway, maybe I'm making a lot of fuss about nothing.
I never looked into it, but I wonder if the forum was allowed to publish anything critical to MS?
Were posters allowed to complain, or advise against their deals? Hope so. This may be an indication of things to come.

pennyc10

Dear Martin; you've saved me, my friends & family so much money over the past few years. We are delighted for your success. Good for you! You've helped millions of peopleand will continue to do so with MSE & your charitable donations. You're an absolute star!! THANK YOU & GOOD LUCK!:wave::wave: