One hundred defectors return to Zoopla from OnTheMarket

| Rosalind Renshaw

One hundred agents have returned to Zoopla from OnTheMarket, City analysts were told at a briefing by Zoopla yesterday.

The remaining growth of 113 offices came from new agent formation, the analysts were told.

They also heard that Zoopla expects returning agents to pay advertising rates in line with what they were paying pre-defection.

Meanwhile, according to the Guardian, Zoopla boss Alex Chesterman’s new deal will net him an £11m share sale plus long-term bonuses worth up to £20m over four years.

The founder of Zoopla, Chesterman has already made over £70m from selling part of his stake in Zoopla when it floated last summer, says the paper.

Under his new performance-based share plan, the maximum number of shares that can be earned over a four-year period is 7.5m, worth around £20m at current prices.

The paper says Chesterman’s new deal replaces a previous long-term incentive plan entitling him to shares worth up to 150% of his salary.

The Guardian reports he was paid £499,000 for the year to the end of last September, including a £302,000 salary.

City analysts were divided in their opinions as to yesterday’s trading update.

Numis said it was “encouraging” but Investec said the update was “light on financials” and that Zoopla’s “valuation remains expensive given weakened market position and OnTheMarket impact”.

Exane BNP Paribas said that only 100 agents out of circa 4,000 had returned from OnTheMarket and that “questions remain on 2016 prospects”.

Shares in Zoopla yesterday rose 4.68% to end the day at 264.85p – its second consecutive daily gain.

The Guardian report is here

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22 Comments

  1. Digital Expert
    August 13, 2015 at 08:18

    “Founder of company gets paid for success” shock horror, PIE can reveal.

    Oh, and this doesn’t fit into our agenda, but based on fact, not hearsay, they’re also in growth, but let’s not dwell on that.

    What odd reporting!

    It’d be interesting to see what the heads of the other portals get paid for their respective performances.

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  2. wilko
    August 13, 2015 at 09:12

    A nice round number of exactly “100” have quit OTM to go back with Zoopla.

    Still very, very low number, as most of the analysts agree. Also worrying that they haven’t attracted many of the total new start ups as well.

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    1. Gloslet
      August 13, 2015 at 14:14

      Just my opinion, but I suspect that a start up is likely to look at the range of portals and decide that actually neither ZPLA or OTM are worthy of their £’s an they will just start with RM.

      Similarly if agents are leaving OTM (& I can’t think that there are that many because of the OTM tie-ins) rather than leaving the industry because of natural wastage via retirement or takeover, I suspect that they would not rush to go back to ZPLA.Why go back to paying for something that you probably haven’t missed ?

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  3. smile please
    August 13, 2015 at 09:18

    How do they know its 100 offices? – They may just have decided for commercial reasons to stop advertising and then go back to advertising with Z.

    I would be surprised if any agent had already left OTM. Every agent i am sure went in know it would take time to gather traction and would be foolish to leave so early if they believed in it.

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    1. danny
      August 13, 2015 at 09:22

      Your comment is that they may have decided to stop for commercial reasons .. What commercial reasons can you think of that would stop someone advertising with one portal. And then return to another whilst breaking a long contract ? Lack of leads , competitive pressure , no visible marketing ? Your right the two things may be completely unrelated !!

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      1. smile please
        August 13, 2015 at 10:03

        No.

        I know small agencies that stop advertising on Zoopla when they have little or no stock and then they start again when they have stock to save cost (to me its false economy but agents do this)

        I know of two by me so surely must be others in the UK.

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  4. danny
    August 13, 2015 at 09:18

    He’ll be getting paid similar to Ian Springett then? One of them has done it from scratch , one of them has delivered the “I have a dream ” speech without anything to actually back it up and   taken OTMers money …

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    1. Robert May
      August 13, 2015 at 10:14

      Done it from scratch? what is that about Danny?  Please calmly explain things as you see it  starting from 15th January 2008 via August 2009 and up till the present day.

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      1. danny
        August 13, 2015 at 10:36

        What I mean Robert is he raised his own money, created an enterprise and then sold his product … He didn’t get everyone’s money upfront , OTM is the biggest Ponsi scheme in one industry I’ve ever seen … Friends helping friends

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        1. Robert May
          August 13, 2015 at 11:35

          OTM is a portal, it is a product/service it has been built from scratch for Agents Mutual which is an affinity group of agents which has been pulled together from scratch. One person has to lead such an affinity group. there are very few people capable of leading such a large group of entrepreneurs, directors, partners and principals, each of whom is used  normally to having the final say on all matters relating to their business. It is not a  case of friends helping friends Ian Springett has pulled together 5200 competitors who on a local level fight for every instruction.

          Alex Chesterman has done equally well with Zoopla, Globrix, Thinkproperty Primelocation and Findaproperty being bought into one organisation, it is buying , not building. Both  Alex and Ian should respected for doing  and achieving different things.

           

          What now has to be understood is what has been built, one is a commercial organisation  which is  profit motivated, the other is an affinity group that is member benefit motivated. Just because  OTM and Zoopla are both portals the objectives are different.

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          1. wilko
            August 13, 2015 at 12:38

            Well put……its funny how danny,harryn, message and digital expert never discuss post after a post like this………they tend to run a mile once they have been proved wrong every time.

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  5. PeeBee
    August 13, 2015 at 10:18

    “100 offices”?  Anybody know ONE?

    Names would be nice.  It’s called ‘substantiation’.  ‘Proof’, in a word, of the claim which at present is ALL it is.

    An ex-Member coming on here and explaining WHY they baled so early into the long trek would be better.

    No-one’s going to start a riot over it – but surely they would want to put their side forward.

    And at the end of the day their explanation might well make AM stronger – which surely is what they wanted in the first instance?

    THERE’S irony for you!

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    1. Paul House
      August 13, 2015 at 10:41

      Actually PeeBee, I do know of a few. I can name at least 2 firms that were OTM but were bought out by one of the corporates and now are not OTM, One of those firms has 7 branches.

      I suspect that many of those 100 that came off probably bought into some of the negative industry press and believed that there business was being affected by not being on Zoopla.

      100 is negligable in the grand scheme of things.

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      1. PeeBee
        August 13, 2015 at 13:06

        “I can name at least 2 firms that were OTM but were bought out by one of the corporates and now are not OTM”

        That’s a fair enough explanation, Paul, in relation to what is probably a large chunk of the 100 – but that is simply NOT “defecting” as it is clearly being portrayed.

        YET AGAIN the war of words is being fought with forked tongue and breath stinking of ********.

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        1. Paul House
          August 13, 2015 at 13:11

          Agreed PeeBee, especially when you consider that Z were claiming a few months back that many agents were going back to Z when this clearly was not the case.

          I also think someone needs to independently verify their inventory stock especially if they are relaying information to the city that based on a search yesterday may be incorrect.

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    2. Robert May
      August 13, 2015 at 10:46

      Obviously if there are 100 offices returned it follows those agents still care enough about  AM to keep their own counsel.

      Instead of irony perhaps this story should be a wake up call to  Agents Mutual members that there is a message about the OTM product. A strategic opportunity is being lost , a statement I appreciate will be received with irritation by some and nods of agreement by others. I am genuinely not trying to be provocative but when a farmer tells a professional lorry driver the lane it too big for his lorry, the lorry driver would do well to listen to the farmer not the sat nav.

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      1. the message
        August 13, 2015 at 15:41

        good post robert. Those that have left are doing a huge favour by keeping quiet about it. The only one that has gone public is pastor real estates of mayfair, quoted in an article. As I say, many of us who arent on OTM would love it to succeed, would save us a fortune, but just dont think it can – you cant force consumers to love a product, the internet is totally different to how it was a decade ago, and the powers behind OTM just “dont get” what a portal needs to do to attract and retain visitors to its site. But if it does succeed, brilliant, we all win. We just arent prepared to invest in  it the way you are, and we also feel we cant have any debate because we are shouted down all the time. Ultimately it fails if it doesnt sign me and others like me up, so why the hell do you all want to stifle debate and not listen to what our concerns are.

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  6. the message
    August 13, 2015 at 10:44

    I thought one was named in the press yesterday? can understand members keeping quiet, a lot of people even not on it want OTM to be successful, and if they have broken contract wont want to shout too loudly, though I am not sure OTM would really want to sue them either.

    The good thing about z and r being plc’s is we get to hear much more than they would like to tell us, but you also know their facts have to be right, and verified. OTM can say what it wants with no comeback, just as Z used to do before they were public.

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  7. wilko
    August 13, 2015 at 11:18

    “but you also know their facts have to be right, and verified” you are joking right?

    Only yesterday Z stated in their report to the city that they felt many of the 3,000 + offices that left for otm would be returning in the next 12 months……….and you believe this to be a verified fact?

    If you are talking about accounts……then they have to be verified whichever business you are and they are in the public sector data.

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    1. the message
      August 13, 2015 at 15:36

      poor response wilko, you better than that. Dont know what was said on a call but “they felt many of 3000” isnt a statement of fact, it is a viewpoint or observation, may well be rubbish, but totally different to saying 100 agents have come back, which has to be a substantiated fact, or giving a number of visitors that has to be verified.

       

      Springet doesnt have to have anything verified, so can say 2m uniques when he means total visitors, or quote a number very different to what hitwise do, and just say hitwise wrong without explaining how one of the most trusted sources of information is just “wrong”

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      1. wilko
        August 13, 2015 at 17:26

        “Springet doesnt have to have anything verified” What a ridiculous statement….are you accusing him of lying about everything, or just not using a verification source that suits your cause?

        If you are that confident then call him an out and out liar. I’m pretty sure you haven’t got the round ones to do it…..have you?

        This is exactly the reason why I don’t intend to post after tomorrow on this subject.

        I’ve never met Ian Springett and don’t even know what he looks like, but I know there are a good handful on here that seem to have it in for him personally, and frankly, I’m not at all interested in debating with those type of posters, it is a complete waste of time.

         

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  8. Jonnie
    August 13, 2015 at 15:50

    Wooo! – 100 branches, someone has already pointed out that the recent corporate buy up of various letting and sale businesses probably covers a big old dollop of this. Anyway, point is that this little no hope mutual keeps getting talked about by Z…..if they don’t have a hope then why is Z always going on about it?

     

    Jonnie

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