Online agent Tepilo ended its last financial year with a loss of almost £2.3m and owing nearly £5m to creditors, with amounts due within 12 months.
Tepilo has only just posted results on Companies House for the financial year ending June 30, 2017.
The accounts were signed off on March 27.
As at the end of June last year, money owed by debtors to Tepilo was up – from £1.7m to £2.5m.
But Tepilo also owed more to creditors – up from £1.6m to £4.8m.
Net liabilities were negative, at £2,287,961, a marked change from the profit of £185,037 the previous financial year.
In its financial statements now available on Companies House, it says that in accordance with the small companies’ regime it has opted not to file a statement of income, meaning that there is no turnover figure.
Of the creditors owed almost £5m, the biggest is identified as being Northern and Shell Finance.
This is owed almost £4m – £3,971,096 – way up from £1,095,558 in the previous financial year.
A note says that the balance due to Northern and Shell Finance is charged at 15% interest, “and all amounts are repayable on demand”.
A further note, under “related party transactions” explains that during the last financial year, North and Shell Ventures charged £464,820 in respect of admin services. The previous year it charged nothing.
Northern and Shell Ventures also advanced loans totaling £6,065,500, charging interest of £382,733. By the end of the last financial year, a loan balance of £3,971,096 was outstanding.
Northern and Shell Ventures bought shares worth £2m in exchange for advertising.
Tepilo hired more staff last year than the year before – 72, up from 53.
The financial statements also reveal that on December 21, Tepilo Holdings bought the entire issued share capital of Tepilo Limited. It adds that the ultimate parent undertaking is Northern & Shell Limited, which was formerly Northern & Shell Media Group.
On December 22, EYE reported on this, saying that Tepilo founder Sarah Beeny, the TV presenter, was no longer a director, although she would continue to be its public face.
Since then Northern & Shell have – in February – sold publications including the Daily Express and OK! Magazine to Trinity Mirror.
Tepilo was not part of that sale.
At the weekend, Tepilo had 1,326 properties available for sale and seven for rent on Rightmove.
What’s this! There is no money to be made In Online Agency?
Online Agency sounds like it should work but it doesn’t in both customer service levels and profit. The problem would appear to be that those who are investing in these Online Agencies aren’t Estate Agents and therefore don’t understand the complexities involved. When the founders of these Online companies are loathe to invest in their own product, what is it the Hedge Funders aren’t getting?
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Game is nearly over for Tepillo.
These part time listing agents or fancy FSBO just doesn’t work as a business model.
As soon as the investor monies stops, so does the business.
No wonder Sarah Beeney stepped aside last year. Even she knows it’s a waste of time and money.
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Ha!
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These online agencies will be gone quicker than they appeared.
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What is it about TV celebs? How many chefs have opened restaurants with their name over the door and failed? Beeny is just the same, a TV personality who thought flogging houses through a Web site with her face plastered all over it would be easy!
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1326 properties and 72 staff, that’s only 18 Properties each. How do they still manage to provide such a dreadful service? It’s time they were gone along with the other online clowns!
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I would imagine they will be gone within the next for 6-12 months. Not only is this an example of EA done badly, but an example of marketing done badly as well. You can’t just attach a name to a brand and expect people to flock towards it, maybe it worked for George Foreman but not when the stakes are this high for a consumer.
The simple truth about the majority of onliness (when you take away the service and advertising etc) is that it is very difficult to make money when you consider the amount it costs to actually sell a property, compared to the amount they give themselves away for.
P
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Ha! Says it all. Nowhere near as clever as she thought she was.
The rest are set to go down like ninepins.
Can’t wait to see egg all over the face of PB as well as all that cake.
The derisory and utterly stupid tv ads will, very soon, soon be a thing of the past.
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They have never ever offered a better service, often less and the public havent fallen for it. Based soley on cheap fees that do not stack up.
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No kidding Sherlock!
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End in sight! The problem with all these on-line agents is they thought on paper it could be a success. First they didn’t have a creditable financial business plan to succeed. It was based on a “numbers game” but expenses far exceeded income, offered no better service, often less and required support from lame investors who frankly are stupid and no doubt crying over their poor judgement and loss’s …. tough. There isn’t a single on-liner that has made a profit and paid a dividend to investors. Second they have not clue of what estate agency is really about and believe that its an easy job. They should have taken stock from all the financial institutions who during the 1990s and 2000’s came and now gone, some nearly went under through the losses they were making.
All those agents that have gone hybrid fee’s … you will live to regret your follay? While you have been trying to make ends meet, your competitors are still there doing half the amount of work, less pressure, less worry, happier staff and able to pay their expenses.
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