QXL bets on Poland

Online auction group QXL Ricardo is increasing its bet on Poland, with the acqusition of a 75pc stake in price-comparison website Ceneo.

QXL will pay £875,000 in cash for the stake and has the option to buy the remaining 25pc from Ceneo's two founders for a maximum of £875,000.

Under the agreement, the price for the final stake will be partly determined by Ceneo's future revenue, and up to 50pc of the price can be settled in QXL shares.

Robert Dighero, acting chief executive of QXL, said: "This acquisition provides us with expertise in what is currently an underdeveloped area of the e-commerce market in Poland and the potential to develop this area in other geographic markets."

Poland has been a strong market for QXL and helped the group's first-half revenue double to £10.3m. Pre-tax profit rose to £1.8m for the six months to the end of September from £1.7m a year earlier.

Profit was helped after QXL won a three-year legal battle to gain control of its existing Polish operations, which consist chiefly of the Allegro auction site.

Ceneo has over 250,000 listings on its site and about 11 million of Poland's 40 million people have easy access to the Internet. QXL currently operates two classified car and property websites in Poland.

Outside Poland, QXL's main markets are Switzerland, Norway and Denmark.

The company is looking for a new chief executive after Mark Zaleski resigned in September. It is also looking for a new chairman.

Source:By Stephen Seawright, telegraph.co.uk