Ailing online estate agent Purplebricks to be sold for just £1 with job cuts expected
Struggling online estate agent Purplebricks will be sold to rival firm Strike for just £1, the company announced today.
After struggling to improve its performance, the firm put itself up for sale in February.
The announcement saw Purplebricks’ share price plummet, down 42 per cent at the time of reporting to 76p. Shares have fallen 96 per cent over the last year.
Purplebricks chairman Paul Pindar said he was “disappointed with the financial value outcome, both as a five per cent shareholder myself and for shareholders who have supported the company under my and the board’s stewardship”.
But he said “there was no other proposal or offer which provided a better return for shareholders, with the same certainty of funding and speed of delivery necessary to provide the stability the company needs”.
Other than chief financial officer Dominique Highfield, chief executive Helena Marston and the rest of the board will step down following the sale.
Purplebricks said that all employees will transfer to Strike, but “anticipated that there will be reductions in headcount in the short term”.
Charles Dunstone, a partner at Freston Ventures, which is a major shareholder of Strike, cheered the deal.
“Purplebricks has dramatically changed the industry by driving down the cost of estate agency, and we aim to combine its significant brand recognition with an even more disruptive business model,” Dunstone said.
“In bringing together the two brands, we will supercharge Strike’s mission to democratise house selling by empowering customers to have more control over a process that has barely changed for 200 years,” he added.