Dot-com estate agents in mega-merger

NEWS Propertyfinder is set to merge with Asserta - the online estate agency division of CGNU - in a deal that will mean the combined firms hold details on 56 per cent of all UK properties for sale at any one time. The all-stock merger will create a database of some 250,000 properties for sale. It also gives Propertyfinder's main investors - Hamptons Internation and Arts Alliance - 20 per cent of the merged firm. The company will operate under the name Asserta Holdings, but both brands will remain, targeting their traditional market segments.