YNOT – Brisbane, Australia-based Neostrata Ltd., parent company of gay adult affiliate program HunkMoney has acquired former competitor BritishBucks, the programs announced Wednesday. The deal includes all marketing operations and BritishBucks’ complete portfolio of pay sites.“We have been in operation for many years, and we are always excited when we find new opportunities to expand our reach and offer even more services for our affiliates,” said Luke Hubert, owner of Neostrata Ltd. “The acquisition of BritishBucks gives us a catalog of very successful sites with excellent marketable content, which we intend to recast and rejuvenate.”

Although fairly young, BritishBucks grew quickly and made a name for itself in the webmaster community by appearing regularly at industry conferences and events. The recent downturn in the global economy took a toll on the company, though, Hubert indicated. HunkMoney intends to maintain BritishBucks as a standalone program, backed by Neostrata.

“BritishBucks has had a rough year on some levels, but its core sites and content still perform exceptionally well in the gay twink market,” Hubert said. “Under our new ownership and management, members and affiliates will now be able to promote these sites with the peace of mind that comes from knowing they are being backed by the same service and support that HunkMoney is known for providing.”

Affiliates will begin to notice changes in BritishBucks immediately, he added.

“We entered into this acquisition knowing BritishBucks affiliates need assurance that they will be paid in full for all of their work,” he said. “We have already deposited funds into a legal trust account and disbursements are being arranged with our payment service providers. As HunkMoney affiliates know, we go out of our way to provide exceptional affiliate support and have never been late on a single payment at any time in our eight-year history. Affiliates can be sure every sale will be paid in full from their past, present and future work on BritishBucks sites.”

Behind-the-scenes changes already are in the works. HunkMoney Affiliate and Site Manager Ben Symons has begun implementation of HunkMoney’s technical systems, customer support and processing support on all BritishBucks sites. This will be followed shortly by an overhaul of the sites’ members areas to provide more exclusive content and free access to bonus sites, Hubert said.

Additionally, BritishBucks and all of its sites will be inspected and certified by WebSiteSecure.org to further improve conversion ratios for affiliates and to reassure consumers the sites are managed ethically at all times, he averred.

“Affiliates do not need to change any linking codes, existing banners or promo content,” Symons said. “If you removed your BritishBucks link codes, get them back up. All BritishBucks affiliates will soon receive information from us to help them understand the change of ownership better, to finalize outstanding payments and to provide information about the exciting new future direction of BritishBucks.”

According to Hubert, HunkMoney has grown more than 60 percent in the past year, and the acquisition of BritishBucks indicates Neostrata intends to continue improving both programs’ relevance by expanding the parent company’s portfolio.

“This acquisition is a huge step for us, and while we won’t disclose terms, it’s obvious that it represents a substantial leap and solidifies HunkMoney as a leader in the gay adult affiliate program market,” Hubert said. “Our organic growth has been incredible. We have focused a large amount of time and effort ensuring we have the right systems, technology and a strong, ethically-run business operation. This is just the beginning of our amazing news coming in 2010.

“We may not be the flashiest or most in-your-face program out there, but we continue to deliver solid growth results for affiliates and operate a strong, reputable and trustworthy company that our affiliates, partners and members can trust,” he added.

In addition to the sites in the BritishBucks network, HunkMoney owns and operates 27 gay membership sites including BrokeandHorny.com, RealBareback.com, YoungHotLatinos.com and AnalDiscipline.com.