FRE Freeplay

RNS Number:5706N
Freeserve PLC
10 July 2000


Freeserve and Bradford & Bingley launch
wide-ranging partnership


Freeserve, the UK's leading Internet portal, and Bradford & Bingley, the
country's leading mortgage broker and high street IFA and the UK's second
largest Building Society today announce the launch of a wide-ranging
partnership

     - Charcolonline, the UK's leading online mortgage broker, to offer       
       mortgage choice to 3.4 million unique users of Freeserve
     - Freeserve and B&B - to be founding partners of the first next          
       generation online property channel
     - B&B to provide wealth management choice and independent advice for
       Freeserve members
     - Freeserve and B&B partnership to extend Freeserve customer base and
       web-enable Bradford & Bingley customers


Mortgage Choice for Freeserve customers

Charcolonline the UK's leading on-line mortgage broker, a subsidiary of B&B
since February this year, will have exclusive rights to offer Freeserve
members a choice of mortgages from over 45 different lenders bringing
mortgage choice and proven service fulfillment to the 3.4 million unique
users of Freeserve.


Next generation property channel joint venture

The new property channel has been designed to allow homebuyers to search an
extensive database of houses for sale from a wide range of estate agents,
including B&B's own network of 370 estate agency branches.

The channel, which will be a 50/50 equity joint venture between Freeserve and
B&B, is to create the first UK Property Channel that aggregates properties
for sale from a wide base and provides for all customer needs when buying a
house. It will be launched to Freeserve s 3.4 million established users in
the autumn.

B&B will promote the channel to its customer base in over 600 building
society and estate agency branches and on sale boards throughout the UK.
Freeserve and B&B will also promote the new property channel online through
their respective websites.

Wealth management choice and advice for Freeserve customers

B&B will also market to Freeserve customers a full range of advice driven
wealth management products and services along with online financial advice
support tools. Bradford & Bingley's network of 800 independent financial
advisers will also be promoted for face to face customer support. B&B will
also become a Freeserve premier partner for execution only wealth products.


Partnership to develop online customer bases

Freeserve will provide co-branded access CDs enabling B&B customers to
benefit from the same range of market-leading and reliable Internet access
offers available to the approximately 2 million registered Freeserve members.

John Pluthero, Chief Executive Officer of Freeserve, said:

"This partnership is designed to remove as much hassle as is possible from
the stressful life experiences of moving house and securing your financial
future. Freeserve is all about offering choice to our members, and by
partnering with Bradford & Bingley Group our members will have at their
disposal a huge selection of products and services from the UK's leading
independent financial adviser and mortgage broker to assist them."


Christopher Rodrigues, Chief Executive Officer of Bradford & Bingley Building
Society, said:

"We have a clear strategy of providing choice and advice to our customers
through a choice of channels to suit them.  We are the UK's leading mortgage
broker and largest high street Independent Financial Adviser.  We are also a
major estate agent with over 370 branches.  It is a logical move for us to
offer these services online as part of our developing customer proposition
and we are delighted to be creating this wide ranging partnership with
Freeserve, the UK's leading portal, putting our products and services before
their 3.4 million unique users."


Notes to Editors


About Freeserve (www.freeserve.com)

Freeserve is the UK's leading portal with an integrated offering of UK-
focused content, e-commerce services and free Internet access. Freeserve has
approximately 2 million active registered accounts and in May 2000 recorded
over 150 million page impressions.

Freeserve was launched in September 1998 as part of the Dixons Group, Europe's
leading consumer electronics retailer.  Freeserve distributes its access
software through Dixons network of over 1,000 Dixons, Currys, PC World, The
Link and @jakarta stores.


About Bradford & Bingley Group (www.bradford-bingley.co.uk)

Bradford & Bingley has more than three million customers, assets in excess of
#24 billion and 600 owned retail outlets covering the UK.  The Group also
comprises of leading mortgage broker John Charcol and Charcolonline - the
market leading online mortgage application service.  Bradford and Bingley
Group is the largest high street provider of independent financial advice
with more than 630 qualified advisers.


About Charcol Online (www.charcolonline.co.uk)

     - Charcolonline is the on-line arm of the UK's leading independent
       mortgage adviser, John Charcol.  The successful e-business transacts   
       around #40 million of mortgage business per month.
     - Launched in November 1999, charcolonline was the UK's first integrated
       on-line mortgage service.  It combines on-line mortgage search, product
       selection and on-line application.
     - Charcolonline is completely independent and offers 463 products from   
       the 47 of the UK's top lenders - representing over 80% of the UK       
       mortgage market in terms of assets.  John Charcol was acquired by      
       Bradford & Bingley in February 2000.


Contact Details

Freeserve
Paul Barker
Tel  01442 355764

Citigate Dewe Rogerson on behalf of Freeserve
Julian Walker/Patrick Toyne Sewell
Tel  020 7638 9571

Bradford & Bingley
James Evans
Tel   01274 554 710
Or
Bell Pottinger Financial
John Coles
Tel   020 7353 9203

Lansons
Helen Proud
Tel   020 7490 8828

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