Purplebricks in the headlines.

January 27, 2016

The share price of Purplebricks increased yesterday on the back of the announcement of their interim results and also being named in Bloomberg’s inaugural Business Innovator’s List.

Michael Bruce, CEO and Founder of Purplebricks, commented: “We are delighted to have been recognised by Bloomberg as an Innovator in the real estate industry.

“Our compelling proposition of personalised, high quality service and affordable fees provides the best of both worlds, resonating with a growing number of customers and posing a fundamental challenge to traditional estate agents, who currently dominate the £4bn market.”

Michael Bruce, Chief Executive of the Company, yesterday  purchased 320,000 ordinary shares bringing his total holding to 41,237,225 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 17.2 per cent. of the Company’s issued share capital. Paul Pindar, non-executive Chairman of the Company, yesterday  purchased 300,000 ordinary shares  bringing his total holding to 11,020,281 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 4.6 per cent. of the Company’s issued share capital.

Both Directors must feel fairly confident about the company’s future by adding to their holdings, personally I am not yet convinced, already a  H1 2016 loss before tax (£6.4m), obviously these are early days and advertising and promotion will be a large part of these costs.

I do not expect Purplebricks to have it all their own way and they should expect a major fight back from traditional estate agents, other online agents will also not be sitting on their hands, only recently online agency HouseSimple has announced that they will be introducing  High Street agency style No Sale-No Fee option for vendors.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

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