His return comes as company secures major client wins and reports a financial turnaround
UK property portal Zoopla has appointed Paul Whitehead (pictured) as its new chief executive officer as part of a broader leadership restructuring.
Whitehead, who previously served as Zoopla’s chief strategy officer, has been working with the company in an advisory role for the past three months. His return comes as Zoopla aims to enhance its platform for home movers while strengthening its connections with estate agents and homebuilders.
Under his leadership, Zoopla has secured new contracts with three major customers, including Leaders Romans Group, which has returned to the platform after a year with rival OnTheMarket. The company reported 450 estate agency branch sign-ups in the first quarter of 2025.
Zoopla has also seen a rise in engagement, with “for sale” leads increasing by 7% year over year. According to the company, a viewing or valuation request is now sent to an estate agent every 1.5 seconds.
Whitehead’s background includes leadership roles at Cazoo, where he served as CEO and COO, as well as a prior tenure at Zoopla until 2018. He was also commercial director at uSwitch before its acquisition by Zoopla’s parent company, ZPG.
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Commenting on his appointment, Whitehead said he was “delighted to return to Zoopla” and aimed to build on the platform’s ability to connect estate agents with high-quality buyers and sellers.
“We have a long history of innovation in the property industry, which we’ll continue to build on as we further develop the leading platform for people looking to move home,” he said.
Whitehead’s appointment comes alongside a broader leadership restructure, including the promotion of Sam Fletcher to chief finance officer. Rich Hayes will remain as chief operating officer, overseeing daily operations, while Alex Rose has been promoted to commercial director, heading Zoopla’s commercial division.
The leadership changes follow a financial turnaround for Zoopla. The company posted a pre-tax profit of £18.7 million, recovering from a £6.2 million loss the previous year. Revenue rose from £87.2 million to £90.4 million, with the company cutting its workforce by nearly 20% — reducing its headcount from 483 to 388 employees.
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