Brett Stone issues a second open letter to shareholders of OnTheMarket
London, 31 July 2023 – Today, Brett Stone released a second open letter to shareholders of OnTheMarket plc. (LSE: OTMP). The letter includes details about OnTheMarket’s poor performance, corporate governance issues, and failure to prevent Rightmove’s excessive price increases.
Brett also provides information about his attempts to provide OnTheMarket the additional expertise and capital needed to deliver attractive returns for shareholders and simple compelling products for customers at speed and scale.
Key points Brett makes within the letter include:
(1) OnTheMarket are underinvesting in their products, teams and business handing an easy win to Rightmove and resulting in the loss of estate agent customers, fewer listings, less visits to their site, slowing revenue growth and a declining share price.
(2) Since OnTheMarket listed in February 2018, shareholders have seen the value of their investment decline by two-thirds, customers have seen their aggregate property portal costs more than double, and the property commerce category in the United Kingdom has remained slow, inefficient and stressful for estate agents and consumers.
(3) OnTheMarket are losing customers with 1,084 estate agent branches lost last year and more than expected being lost so far this year. (Rightmove lost 178 branches last year as a comparison). Portal visits are down 14% and revenue growth slowed in the second half to up £0.4 million or 2.4%.
(4) OnTheMarket is irresponsibly diluting shareholders and granting options to insiders. OnTheMarket issued 19.5 million new shares since IPO and has granted 13.2 million options.
(5) OnTheMarket are making public statements which do not appear to be based in reality or supported by evidence (examples of which are examined in an appendix to Brett Stone’s open letter) and do not appear to be acting in the best interests of customers, shareholders, or consumers.
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