Internet and telephone directory service Scoot, which was set up five years ago, is about to move out of Oxford.

The company plans to transfer its head office from the Oxford Business Park at Cowley, where it employs 98 people, to Uxbridge, Middlesex, in the summer.

The firm said that the decision to re-locate had been influenced by the company's growth and its expansion into Europe, with plans to open offices in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal within the next three years.

Key factors in choosing a new office included communication networks and travel times, proximity to an international airport and the need for a site for an international training centre. A typical use of the new service would see a househunter use Loot to find a property and then Scoot for a local solicitor and furniture removals.

Other shareholders in Loot who will benefit from the sale are Jacob Rothschild, of the Rothschild banking family, and advertising mogul Lord Saatchi.

The deal marks Scoot's first expansion beyond its online services into traditional print media.

Scoot is paying 178m in cash, with the rest made up in shares. It is also taking on 2m of Loot debts.