In these straitened economic times, when new mortgages are about as common as a Robert Mugabe acceptance speech, it's interesting to see a strong play from the north-west financial comparison site, MoneyExpert.

it's been announced that chaiman Nigel Warr is buying back a big chunk of equity from private equity firm MMC Ventures; he's  joined in this financial restructuring by California-based VC outfit TCV who are pumping £25m into the business.

Warr, who is a serial telecoms entrepreneur, says: "Between now and 2010, we anticipate the aggregator market for finance and insurance alone, could grow by nearly 200 per cent."

As part of the deal, Warr has also picked up the price and utilities comparison service, SimplySwitch, from Daily Mail & General Trust. SimplySwitch, founded by entrepreneur Karen Darby, was once the poster child of social investment fund Bridges Community Ventures, but failed to deliver traffic expectations under DM&GT's ownership.

TCV has more than $7bn under management and has backed successful technology providers such as Expedia and Infonxx, which owns the 118-118 service.