Countrywide announced this morning that it has sold in aggregate 9,234,473 ordinary shares in Zoopla Property Group at an average price of £3.17, raising £29.2m.
The shares were sold between the period from August 9 to yesterday.
Following the disposal, Countrywide no longer has a holding in Zoopla’s ordinary share capital.
Countrywide said the proceeds of the disposal will be used to reduce corporate indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes.
Comments (15)
What nobody is mentioning is that with Connells and Countrywide both selling Zoopla down…look at the timing of Alex Chesterman of Zoopla sale of a huge chunk of valuable shares!! To save you looking up, Connells sold on 16/9 and declaring on 19/9, Chesterman sells on 19/9 and declares on 20/9 and now Countrywide completely sell their holding 22/9. Wasn’t he lucky with his timing… Pure chance I’m sure some will say… What does this say about Zoopla for the future….
Wow, have I missed this on eye?
Thank you P-Daddy!
It appears to me that CW shall never join the agent collective as they appear to have their own ‘personal’ and may be exclusive agenda with A N OTHER portal?
History has shown that people rebel against an unfair dominate force eventually, generally after many unbelievers of a dictatorial line are dispatched accordingly?
New blood will never understand that a key point of estate agency is hand holding not cross selling?
Proper estate agency in the UK is amongst the best value in the world, indeed stamp duty generally costs far more?
Why are our industry leaders not shouting this from the roof tops?
sells…its shares…..pedant? Who me ?
Cashing in suggests some influential players believe Zoopla shares may have peaked.
Argh!!!!! Couldn’t work out yesterday why Alex may have sold lots of shares at this point?
May be their new AIP mortgage offering aimed at their (Z) applicants was a step too far?
Will the other Corps follow suit?
May be even interested in joining OTM now they believe they know the portals future plans?
May be Alison may even drop their on line offering now PB have shown the industry their true cost to market?
May be they may even consider joining OTM thereafter?
May be this changes everything if can agents and OTM can come up with a plan to truly rally themselves for the sake of the industry?
May be.
May be?
But no.
Rallying everyone for the sake of the industry should be easy……but I think it’s akin to trying to herd five thousand pet cats. Everyone thinks they know best, everyone has their own agenda and direction they want to follow. It needs someone, or better still a group of someones, to stand up in the middle and be the desirable ‘cooked chicken’, so to speak.
AgentV
May be all it takes is to come up with a new strategy that enables full service agents to consolidate their position, gain more instructions and out flank those unprofitable on line only agents who have no real incentive to sell?
Then may be those cats become sheep dogs with the right whistle?
The real problem is stopping the sheep dog owner being eaten by the wolves!
Thomas,
Excellently put.
Do redundancies count as “other general corporate purposes”?
Has anyone actually counted how many tiers of “management” they have added between the branch and the managing directors? Then following the removal of the old, highly experienced estate agent MDs and other senior figures, the additional tiers of senior management that have been added under Alison “retail” Plattt? £29.2 million should pay for their salaries ….
Restructuring going well then?
The biggest UK agent cuts it financial interest in Zoopla
I hadn’t realised how much Zoopla shares were actually worth. Blimey!
Retail, Retail, Retail? I get it now; a bit like BHS and Woolworths?
and …… now they have no excuse for not joining …. you know who.