The chief executive and founder of online property portal Zoopla (ZPLA), Alex Chesterman, gets a nice ego boost as a statement of his long-term commitment to the business helps spark a 2.7% rise to 261.2p.

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The news is disclosed in an otherwise in-line third quarter update which also contains the nugget that its UK estate agency membership has returned to growth with the addition of 213 net new branches.

Earlier this year the market had fretted about the competitive impact of agency-led new entrant OnTheMarket. The latter only allows its members to list on one other site and many opted for rival Rightmove (RMV), leading Zoopla to lose nearly a quarter of its agents in a year.

The latest update suggests the business, which also reports a strong performance in its recently-acquired energy price comparison business uSwitch, is beginning to move past the impact of the launch of this new rival.

Canaccord Genuity, reiterates a 'hold' recommendation and increases its price target from 220p to 280p, commenting: ‘Zoopla's management is innovative and creative. It has handled the threat from OnTheMarket and its UK Agency membership is now growing.’

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Issue Date: 12 Aug 2015