Agents’ Mutual and Connells Group brand Gascoigne Halman are due back in court this week.
The case management conference on Wednesday follows up last week’s unanimous judgment by the Competition Appeal Tribunal that Agents’ Mutual had not broken competition law on any count.
Laying out its conclusions, the Tribunal panel said the ‘one other portal’ rule was ‘objectively necessary’ (page 162) and ‘pro-competitive’ (page 150) because it increased competition between Rightmove and Zoopla to become the remaining portal choice for estate agent customers (page 150).
The Tribunal also judged that Agents’ Mutual was not breaching competition law by not allowing online-only agents to list at OnTheMarket, and with its ‘exclusivity’ for properties new to the market.
The Tribunal now looks to be acting very fast to resolve the issues of costs.
The anticipated list of matters to be covered on Wednesday will include issues of costs and directions in the light of the judgment for the hearing of the remaining non-competition issues with Gascoigne Halman.
Last July, it was reported that Agents’ Mutual was ordered to pay £1m into court as security for Gascoigne Halman’s costs should the latter have won. This week’s hearing will have before it a claim by Agents’ Mutual to recover both costs and losses, as well as this deposit money. Gascoigne Halman did not have to pay money into court.
Cost budgets agreed in court were £1.8m for Agents’ Mutual, and £2.8m for Gascoigne Halman. However, it is believed that actual costs incurred by both parties have exceeded agreed costs.
I do love news like this on a Monday morning. Have a great week one and all.
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I agree. And compensation (lost opportunity cost, for instance)……….??
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Who was that firm that bought the class action against Foxtons? How much of OUR investment in this portal has been damaged by Connels and Zoopla?!!……5000+ agent offices seeking compensation??
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LMAO.
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All I did was Laugh.
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No matter who you agree with … the lawyers fees won.
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I’d quite like Zoopla to not bail them out at this point… and then see… what comes out in the wash…
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One has to wonder what the members of the Skipton Building Society thinks about this huge waste of money. They are the ultimate parent company of Connells/Gascoigne Halman.
I never understood how Connells thought they were going to win, in effect the court would have had to say that then management of Gascoigne Halman was incompetent and unable to sign the deal. And that could have led to the possibility of any other deals being signed (including the sale to Connells) being declared invalid.
It was always perfectly reasonable for OTM to operate a One Other Rule. As business owners we are all rational adults and can make those sort of decisions for ourselves, no one was forced into OTM. We don’t need the courts horning in and Connells has only damaged themselves within the industry by working like this.
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Have you noticed the renewed positivity surrounding OTM by its member agents (it was desperately needed!) We now need to use this momentum to push the portal forward. If costs and damages are awarded it could prove to be the biggest ever ‘own goal’ by Zoopla in the history of UK property portals to date. To the board at AM this is your opportunity to become the number two portal. Do not lose the momentum and don’t throw away what could be your last chance.
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