GoCompare's Italian opera star has profits singing

Love him or loathe him, the fictional Italian opera star from GoCompare’s ads helped to raise insurance sales after bosses brought him back from the dead.

GoCompare’s new owner eSure re-introduced the character to TV screens last July after a three-year hiatus, leading to a surge in revenues at the comparison website.

The tenor, known as Gio Compario, was originally killed off in a 2012 ad featuring Wimbledon host Sue Barker wielding a bazooka.

But after his revival, GoCompare income leapt 10%. Full year income rose 5% to £119 million for the site.

Esure’s total pre-tax profits rose nearly 30% to £134 million on the back of a 6.3% rise in premiums to £550.3 million

Esure founder Peter Wood also enjoyed a £14.8 million payday after the business paid out a 11.5p final dividend.

The payout was a lower proportion of earnings than last year as the group keeps money back to invest.