hipages Group has acquired a majority stake in VIZ Insurance, marking its strategic entry into the insurance sector for tradies and broadening its platform offerings.
- Acquired 51% of VIZ Insurance for $1.4 million
- VIZ offers digital insurance for 85+ trade occupations
- Acquisition funded from existing cash reserves
- Option to buy remaining equity over four years
- Aims to increase customer retention and revenue
hipages Moves Beyond Marketplace into Insurance
hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:HPG) has taken a significant step beyond its core tradie marketplace by acquiring a 51% stake in VIZ Insurance for $1.4 million. This move positions hipages to tap into the insurance needs of Australian tradies through a digital-first platform that delivers specialised coverage across more than 85 trade occupations.
VIZ Insurance, founded in 2016 and acquired by Insurtech Gateway Australia only last year, has built a reputation for speed and convenience, offering tradies insurance cover in as little as six minutes. Its standout innovation, the VIZ Tradie Pass, is Australia’s first digital wallet insurance card, enabling instant mobile access to Certificates of Currency. This acquisition aligns with hipages’ ambition to expand its total addressable market (TAM) and deepen engagement with its 35,000-plus subscribed trade business customers.
Strategic Platform Expansion with Financial Discipline
The deal includes hipages taking two board seats and securing call and put options to acquire the remaining VIZ equity over four annual tranches. The pricing for these future tranches is tied to revenue multiples and EBITDA margin targets, reflecting a performance-linked approach to the acquisition cost. hipages CEO Roby Sharon-Zipser emphasised that insurance is a non-discretionary product for tradies, making VIZ a natural fit for the Group’s platform strategy.
Importantly, the acquisition was funded entirely from hipages’ existing cash reserves, a notable point given the company’s strong cash position reported in its recent results. This financial prudence follows on from hipages’ momentum, including an 11% revenue rise and robust profit growth in the half-year ending December 2025, supported by strategic pricing and expansion efforts across Australia and New Zealand. The Group’s cash strength was highlighted in its last update, with over A$31 million on hand and no debt, which likely facilitated this acquisition without the need for external capital.
Integration and Growth Potential in the Tradie Ecosystem
VIZ’s founder and Executive Director Simon O'Dell will remain with the business, ensuring continuity as hipages integrates the insurance offering into its ‘hipages for business’ platform. This platform already supports tradies in managing workflows from lead generation to payment, and the addition of insurance services could enhance customer retention and revenue streams, providing a more comprehensive operating system for trade businesses.
The acquisition also opens the door for hipages to eventually offer insurance products to homeowner customers, expanding beyond its traditional market. The deal’s structure, with future earn-outs based on EBITDA margin achievements, suggests hipages is betting on VIZ’s continued growth and profitability within its ecosystem.
This development comes as hipages continues to build on a strong foundation of revenue and EBITDA growth, following its successful migration to a single tradie platform and subscription model shifts. The Group’s ability to leverage its existing customer base and platform technology to cross-sell insurance products could mark a meaningful evolution in its business model, potentially setting a precedent for further adjacencies.
As hipages integrates VIZ, investors will be watching how quickly the insurance offering scales and contributes to the Group’s financials, particularly given the performance-linked acquisition pricing. The success of this strategy could redefine hipages’ position in the tradie services market, moving from a pure marketplace to a diversified platform powerhouse.
Bottom Line?
hipages’ acquisition of VIZ Insurance signals a bold platform expansion into tradie insurance, with growth and integration execution key to unlocking value.
Questions in the middle?
- How quickly will VIZ’s insurance products scale within hipages’ existing customer base?
- What impact will the acquisition have on hipages’ overall EBITDA margins in coming years?
- Could hipages extend insurance offerings to homeowner customers as hinted, and on what timeline?