Rightmove is set to be relegated from the FTSE 100 later this month, ending a lengthy spell in the UK’s blue-chip index after a sharp decline in its share price over the past year.
According to index provider FTSE Russell, the property portal is expected to join the FTSE 250 when the latest index reshuffle takes effect on 22 June. Housebuilder Berkeley Group Holdings is also expected to leave the FTSE 100.
The move follows a difficult 12 months for Rightmove, with its share price falling by more than 40%. Investor sentiment has been affected by a series of developments, including the company’s announcement of a £60m artificial intelligence investment programme, activist shareholder pressure and a £1.5bn legal claim filed earlier this year.
Rightmove floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 with a market valuation of around £425m and went on to become one of the UK’s most valuable listed property businesses. Shares reached a record high in 2021, giving the company a market capitalisation of around £6.7bn.
More recently, the company rejected four takeover approaches from Australia’s REA Group in September 2024, the highest of which valued Rightmove at £6.2bn. After REA withdrew its interest, Rightmove’s share price fell sharply and has continued to come under pressure.
At current levels, the stock is trading significantly below REA’s final offer and the company’s market value has fallen to around £3.3bn.
Rightmove’s relegation from the FTSE 100 is a significant moment.
A company once valued at around £6.7bn is now worth roughly half that, with its share price having fallen more than 40% over the past year.
There are many reasons why share prices rise and fall, but investors will no doubt be looking closely at slowing growth, increased investment spending, growing competition from new technology, and the reported £1.5bn legal claim currently before the courts.
For years, many independent agents have voiced concerns about rising portal costs and the different prices paid across the industry. Whether those concerns are ultimately upheld is a matter for the courts and regulators to determine.
What is clear is that a growing number of agents feel strongly enough to challenge the status quo.
If you’re a small independent estate agent (like me) facing significant portal costs and regular fee increases, remember that businesses have every right to question practices they believe are unfair and to seek answers through the proper legal and regulatory channels.
A healthy property market needs healthy competition. Whatever your view of Rightmove, greater transparency and fairness can only benefit agents, consumers and the wider industry.
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With RM’s annual slap in the face rise of 10% for c. 20 years it is hardly surprising that any service provider might meet a degree of resistance. All power to those choosing to move away from this portal in particular and let us also hope AI might make a curated search for consumers a better choice.
I would not normally wish ill on a business enterprise, but for RM I’m prepared to make an exception for the treatment it has meted out to independent agents, particularly for those seeking to provide a local service in smaller towns and villages.
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