Colour drains from Purplebricks as latest financials leaves them feeling blue

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“Unfortunately for Purplebricks, today’s figures and the failure of their international escapades will have left them feeling a little blue. That’s if the colour has drained from them completely.

A retreat from the US being announced as well as its previous admission that their Australian project has also flopped will come as a real blow to the validity of their business model and certainly raises questions about their future on a domestic level.

While £52m in losses is eye-watering enough, they’ve actually burnt £90m which is a story all too familiar with the online model and one has to wonder when enough is enough. No wonder Neil Woodford and his investors have been having sleepless nights”

Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“Purplebricks has put more gloss on their UK performance than a drunk decorator and no wonder, considering the monumental failures elsewhere around the world. Now that they’ve returned from their international crusades with their tails between their legs, they will no doubt lining the City up for further investment to support their focus on the UK.

However, whilst they’ve grown revenue and claim they are ‘successful’ at selling, you just need to read between the lines to see that this success isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Although they are very vocal about their figures up until the sold subject to contract stage, their performance when actually getting a sale over the line remains shrouded in mystery.

There is a good reason for this and at a top-level, they have failed to gain any meaningful ground when it comes to the number of properties listed despite huge marketing spend.”