BREAKING NEWS – top 5 stories 25/05/2021

Estate Agent Networking Breaking News

FIXFLO EXIT TO AAEON AG AFTER A DECADE BUILDING THE BUSINESS

Most Proptech enterprises have two exit strategies the IPO route, becoming a listed company and floating or being bought up by a company with deep pockets, usually so the company can further develop the business, usually retaining the team in place.

Rajeev Nayyar & Duncan Careless and their team have just done a deal with German based Aaeon AG, for an undisclosed sum, having built the company and client base up over the past decade.

As we predicted late last year, 2021 would see a spate of large collaborations or exits, as the proptech space starts to mature, and the financial values become easier to gauge, and there is a bigger appetite to buy into the future tech that exists rather than develop it in house and be behind the curve.

PURPLEBRICKS SHARE PRICE LOWER THAN THE DAY IT FIRST FLOATED ON AIM

When Purplebricks floated on the Alternative Investment Market in December 2015, its share price was 95.4p, now it trades at 82.4p, and at its highest value it was worth 498.5p in late July 2017.

Given that 2020 most agent’s doors were closed and Purplebricks being an online agent should have had a material advantage, are we now seeing in its sixth year that a mature online agent is no longer full of latent value?

Having never shown a profit, maybe this year it can reverse this trend, but it’s problem is that it is neither high tech nor has enough humans to guarantee client UX. And it is the client that at the end of the day that is the golden metric.

MORTGAGEZ NEW ONLINE BROKERAGE PLATFORM

With a whole of the mortgage market reach, this service will also solve pain points around sourcing solicitors as well as giving financial advice on property finance.

ALMOST ONE IN THREE OF PROPERTIES SOLD IN MARCH DID SO OVER ASKING PRICE

According to Propertymark, 32% of sales agreed subject to contract in March 2021 were agreed at a sale figure higher than the asking price.

THE GUILD OF PROPERTY PROFESSIONALS HOSTS – INDUSTRY BUSINESS OWNERS POWER SESSION

On Friday 27 May 2021, The Guild of Property Professionals will be hosting an online power session for business owners, providing a platform for estate agency owners to interact with other property professionals and tap into the knowledge and experience of the network. The Business Owners Power Session will focus on housing market statistics and predictions, as well as lead-generation tools and services that will help estate agency owners take their business to the next level in the year ahead.

While the first quarter of this year has been remarkable for the sector with property prices achieving record highs and transaction figures at stratospheric levels, demand is outstripping supply and stock levels are reducing quickly.  With a subdued number of listings coming onto the market, the level of competition among estate agencies will increase and businesses will need to be able to differentiate themselves in the market.

Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, says that it is during the prosperous times that businesses should be putting plans in place for the more challenging times.
“Business within the property sector is currently booming, however, business owners need to prepare and have a plan in place for the remainder of the year and moving into 2022. The Guild has put together a business power session to provide business owners insight into the current market and how we can expect it to change in the months ahead. Having that information will help business owners plan in advance, be prepared and adapt so that they can thrive in the future,” he says.

The session will include an in-depth, data-driven market review, as well as what projections and trends we could expect to develop as the rest of the year plays out. The session will look to provide answers to questions such as whether the elevated levels of demand will be sustained until the end of the year, and what aspects could have an impact on the market moving forward, such as the end of the stamp duty holiday.

Apart from a housing market review and predictions, The Business Owners Power Session will also cover topics such as the new propensity to move data based on information from TwentyCI, effective digital marketing tips and tools, and how business owners can address the stock issue and win more instructions through lead-generation technology, such as Fee Street.
McKenzie will discuss actions, methods, and strategy that business owners can use to prosper and grow their businesses in the years ahead.

Guild Members can book for their spot for the Business Owners Power Session on  27 May 2021 from 4pm to 5:30pm, through the Members Hub. Non-members who wish to attend can email regionalmanagers@guildproperty.co.uk to register.

Andrew Stanton

CEO & Founder Proptech-PR. Proptech Real Estate Influencer, Executive Editor of Estate Agent Networking. Leading PR consultancy in Proptech & Real Estate.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Homebuyers face longer buying timelines

The latest research from Lyons Bowe suggests the homebuying process could become even slower in 2026: as the number of conveyancers operating across the UK is thought to have fallen by almost -13% while transaction volumes rise, placing further pressure on completion timelines. Lyons Bowe has analysed data on the number of active conveyancers in…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 1/4/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Winning the AI Era: A Playbook for UK Estate Agencies The AI-Driven Rewiring of UK Estate Agency Thought Leadership by Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR Real estate has historically been conservative, fragmented, and inefficient. A surge of startups, is introducing automation, data-driven decision-making, and better customer experiences. This…
Read More
Breaking News

What renters and landlords need to know ahead of major rental law changes

With just one month to go until the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force, the leading professional body, Propertymark, is urging renters and landlords across England to understand how the changes could affect them. From 1 May 2026, the legislation will introduce some of the biggest changes to the private rented…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Tackling Empty Properties

A UK Perspective on Best Practice and Recommendations for Reform Propertymark, the UK’s leading professional body for property agents, has today published a comprehensive new position paper highlighting the urgent need for coordinated, practical and properly resourced action to bring long-term empty properties back into use. With over 359,000 homes sitting empty for more than…
Read More
Breaking News

Pet-friendly rentals plunge 39%

New research from Inventory Base reveals that the number of pet-friendly rental homes in England has fallen by -39% since the start of 2026, as landlords appear to be reducing the number of homes openly marketed as allowing pets ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act taking effect from 1st May. The Renters’ Rights Act (RRA)…
Read More
Breaking News

Latest Nationwide house price data showing a 2.2% increase

Industry reaction to Nationwide house price data showing UK annual house price growth picked up to 2.2% in March, from 1.0% in February. Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, comments: “An uplift in house prices will be welcomed by the market and suggests that buyer demand remains resilient despite ongoing economic headwinds. Improved sentiment, coupled with…
Read More