Leading Asian online real estate company DDProperty has bought the Ensign Media group business in Thailand, including the Property Report magazine and website and the Asia Property Awards.
DDProperty, which is part of the PropertyGuru group, says the deal offers Thailand’s real estate developers and partners the opportunity for industry recognition across Asia.
The purchase includes all the real estate media businesses of Singapore-based Ensign Media, whose staff have now joined PropertyGuru. The terms of the deal have not been revealed.
Property Report is a regional luxury property and lifestyle magazine and website that publishes news and insights on investment destinations.
The winners from each country go on to compete in the South East Asia Property Awards, which are presented annually in Singapore at a showcase conference and gala dinner event. The China Property Awards separately cover Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and are held annually in Hong Kong. Each award is judged by an independent panel of industry experts and has a fully transparent entry and judging system.
Steve Melhuish, CEO and Co-Founder of PropertyGuru, says, “We’re excited to welcome the Ensign team and businesses to PropertyGuru. This latest acquisition strengthens the group’s content, geographic reach and services we provide to real estate developers regionally.
“With the recent implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), ASEAN has been forecast to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030. In the next 10 to 15 years, we expect increasing cross-border movements and foreign investments, creating more demand for properties in these markets.
“With 14 million property seekers from all over the world using our online portals every month, searching for the right property, gathering trends, insightful news and feature stories, PropertyGuru is well-placed to help them find the home they’ve always dreamed about.”
PropertyGuru’s 14 million users and Property Report’s 70,000 online and offline readers, will have combined access to PropertyGuru’s 600 monthly research and news articles published in three languages across four markets, and Property Report’s 100 plus online features per month.
The acquisition of the Ensign businesses will strengthen PropertyGuru’s integrated property media capability, combining the company’s leading online property sites and its 20 property shows across the region, with a leading print and online publication and a highly successful and prestigious property industry awards platform in Asia.
Founded by Terry Blackburn and Duncan Worthington in 2003 and headquartered in Singapore, Ensign began publishing Property Report in 2004. Focusing on high-end real estate in the region, and international investment opportunities for readers, Property Report is now a bi-monthly print magazine distributed across ASEAN and Hong Kong via newsstands, five star hotels, airport lounges and direct mail. Property-Report.com features listings of Asia Property Award winning developments and over 100 Asia-focused property articles each month, receiving 60,000 page views monthly.
Ensign’s founder, Terry Blackburn, who will be joining PropertyGuru to continue to drive growth in the Asia Property Awards and Property Report, said, “Over the past 10 years, Property Report has established an expertise in providing its readership with the latest insights on luxury property investment in Asia, and we are very excited about this next stage.
“The Asia Property Awards are already the region’s largest and most respected real estate awards and now, with PropertyGuru’s support, they will be even bigger in 2016 and the years ahead. This is great news, both for developers seeking credible recognition, and for investors looking for the region’s best properties. Together with PropertyGuru, we will ensure that award winners in the world’s most exciting real estate destinations receive the widest possible recognition for their achievements.”
DDproperty.com is a No.1 property portal in Thailand and is part of PropertyGuru Group, Asia’s leading property website headquartered in Singapore with extensive networks in Malaysia and Indonesia, with more than 3 million visitors per month, the highest web traffic among other property sites, over 16 million page views per month, and more than 180,000 active property listings with almost 60% market share.
PropertyGuru has become market leader in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia and received S$175million investment – the largest in the technology sector in Southeast Asia in 2015 – to support its innovation, marketing and further expansion in the region.
Source: http://www.opp.today/dd-property-buys-ensign-media-group/#o7jkkKAU7WlSKQXr.97
