� A Place in the Sun goes digital with summer website launch
� Online classifieds portal to follow magazine and exhibition success
� Unique joint venture bringing together brand management expertise, in-depth new media knowledge and extensive overseas property experience
Channel 4 and the publishing and exhibition company Brooklands Group have today announced the formation of a unique joint venture to launch an online classifieds portal for overseas property sales on the back of Channel 4�s highly successful series, A Place in the Sun � produced by Freeform Productions.
The new web venture will feature thousands of houses for sale right across the world and offer a valuable resource to anyone seeking a dream home or investment property abroad. The site will offer overseas property market news, practical guides to buying and financing, as well as country-specific information combined with discussion forums where users can share experience and advice.
At the heart of the A Place in the Sun website will be a comprehensive overseas property sales database, driven by a sophisticated multiple-layer search tool including the latest geographical map-based search technology.
Says Paul Whitehead, Head of Corporate and Business Development, Channel 4: �With tens of thousands of people investing in overseas property each year, the A Place in the Sun brand, with its tremendous consumer interest built through the TV series, magazine and live events, lends itself to a dedicated web site. This is Channel 4�s first entry into the rapidly growing space of online classified advertising* and a great example of the channel working with programme brands, production companies and partners to explore new business models and ways of working in the digital landscape.�
Says Darren Styles, Chief Executive, Brooklands Group: �Having worked with Channel 4 and Freeform Productions to create not only the UK�s best-selling overseas property magazine but also the UK�s biggest and best-attended overseas property exhibitions, A Place in the Sun Live, we are at the heart of this market. We are very excited to be working in partnership with Channel 4 on the digital extension of this immensely successful brand. The site will appeal to property seekers and estate agents alike and is set to quickly establish itself as the definitive reference point for overseas property.�
For more information:
Sarah Booth, Channel 4 Press Office
T: 020 7306 5395
Gillian Green, Brooklands Group Account Director, Magellan PR
T: 020 8875 2850
Pre-register sales enquiries with:
Jon Keen, Online Sales Manager
T: 01737 786 825
Notes to Editors:
A Place in the Sun debuted on Channel 4 in 2000 and is made by Freeform Productions. Hosted by Amanda Lamb, the TV series achieves up to 3.5 million viewers a week. Variations of the series include A Place in the Sun: Home and Away presented by Jonnie Irwin and Jasmine Harman. Brooklands Group signed a licence to publish the official magazine of the TV series in December 2003, and subsequently won the PPA�s Magazine of the Year Award for independent publishers, and launched the A Place in the Sun Live exhibitions in April 2005. Winning Launch Exhibition of the Year and, later, Exhibition Team of the Year at the prestigious Event Awards, the calendar now extends to four shows at Manchester Central (February), London ExCeL (April), Birmingham NEC (September) and London Earls Court (October).
* Total UK online advertising spend is predicted to amount to �800million in 2008 and forecast to grow to �1.5 billion by 2011 (source Enders Analysis).
For more information contact:
Magellan PR on Tel: 020 8875 2850
Email: [email protected]