Jim Spowart, the former chief executive of Intelligent Finance, is heading a new financial services comparison Web site that is being launched by Scottish media company SMG.
A former managing director of telephone insurer Direct Line, Spowart created a greenfield Internet savings and mortgage bank for Standard Life before moving to HBOS to oversee the launch of standalone telenet bank IF in 2000.
He stepped down as chief executive of IF in 2003 and joined small Scottish IT support firm Adventi as director of business strategy in 2004. He left Adventi in November 2005.
SMG's new price comparison site, called Peopleschampion.com, was conceived and will be headed by Spowart, who will feature strongly in editorial content.
The site will be powered by personal finance aggregator moneysupermarket.com and will generate income based on the number of users utilising the comparison functions. The online service is expected to reach profitability early in its first year.
SMG has agreed to pay Spowart - along with a number of associates who devised the site's brand and concept - an initial sum of £250,000 to take control of the Web site's holding company. The founders will keep a 20% stake in the company and will also have an option to require SMG to buy them out in 2010 or 2012.
Commenting on the new service, Spowart says: "We will be bringing consumers the best deals. This will save them significant amounts of money. My track record has been in offering people value-for-money products and Peopleschampion.com is the natural progression. We will be offering huge choice and showing people how they can move to a better deal in a wide range of products from credit cards, insurance, mortgages through to travel and energy supply.
"This is the future and we know that the UK consumer has been waiting for this easy-to-use, one-stop shop."