NEWSFLASH: Purplebricks’ new owner close to finalising job cuts

Sky News is reporting that the new owner of Purplebricks is finalising plans to cut more than 100 jobs in a bid to improve its financial performance.

Sky News says it understands that Strike is close to rubber-stamping plans to axe roughly 15% of Purplebricks’ 695-strong workforce prior to the takeover.

Sources close to the company said on Thursday that a consultation process signalled after the deal closed in May would reach a conclusion next week.

In total, between 100 and 120 jobs are expected to go, they said.

Once worth well over £1bn, the online property group was worth little more than £2m when Strike agreed to buy it.

“This restructuring process will involve certain roles being made redundant as we shift to a scalable, lower-cost operating model following the sale to Strike,” a Purplebricks spokesman said.

“However, we have also proposed a significant number of new roles, specifically designed to enhance our specialised workforce focused on delivering an exceptional customer journey.”

He added: “Since the acquisition by Strike, Purplebricks has seen an uptick in weekly instructions and has achieved number one market share nationally for three of the past six weeks.

“This consultation is about ensuring Purplebricks has the right operating model going forward, providing a solid foundation for continued success in the estate agency industry.”

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3 Comments

  1. skipdale

    Number 1 market share nationally! LOL. With the amount of local agents and marketing spend over the last 10 years I would hope so! However the real numbers would show that actually over the last 8 weeks locally they (on my very large patch at least) have less than 0.7% market share. Strike also had 0.7%. Long may that continue.

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  2. Diogenes

    and has achieved number one market share nationally for three of the past six weeks – as a single brand perhaps, but there are businesses with multiple brands out there who are actually successful. Belvoir – TPFG – Connells, LRG etc. 

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  3. Barnabus

    I find it fascinating to watch how much longer investors into these models can hold their nerve, it’s anybody’s guess but if todays market is what we are working with for the next 18/24 months that surely has to be the end of the line for PB/Yopa/Nested etc and a whole host of other agency chains. It sucks but the reality is that we will never see a better market than 2020 – 2022 again, and many struggled to make profit even then, the results will be terrifying now. Hate to say it as someone in the industry but the sector is far too bloated, and only the smartest/fittest can survive.

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