Faisal Butt, the proptech expert and investor, says that the deal announced yesterday merging Emoov, Tepilo and Urban is in fact an acquisition by Emoov.
He tweeted: “I first invested in @emoov in 2013 as THE digital disruptor in estate agency. Am proud that it’s just DOUBLED in size and is now the clear number 2 player to Purplebricks upon its acquisition of @tepilo and @urban_co_uk in a £100m+ deal. Congrats to @emoovCEO and the whole team!”
The identical tweet was also sent out by ex-Dragon James Caan.
CEO of the new entity Russell Quirk was however insistent that the deal is a merger.
He tweeted: “Proud to announce the merger of Emoov & @Tepilo; creating the second largest digital #EstateAgent in the UK. We’re also incorporating @Urban_co_uk – one of the UK’s largest digital lettings agencies. Let’s celebrate the start of something special!”
The new, combined, business is said to be worth £100m and to be the second largest online player after Purplebricks.
Comments (13)
No matter how often this happens I cannot understand how 3 companies that make zero profit and burn every pound that is invested in them can ever be worth anything, let alone 100s of millions of £s!
They are not offering anything new, so business as usual for them with a bit more money that will be flushed down the pan. Doomed to fail.
I’m going to invest in this company and to make sure I spread my risk I’ll put a tenner on the nose for the 3 o clock at Kempton
It’s certainly been on the cards for two years that the online players would have to consolidate and pool resources to stand a chance of catching Purple Bricks. The question is who is willing to put cash into these merged vehicles as none appear to be cash generative in their own right, and so consolidation does not necessarily de-duplicate costs which will result in higher free cash for investment in marketing.
The other sticking point is that for a consolidation to work you have to get behind a single brand, a single technology platform and a single HQ with a single Executive team. “Merger” suggests a meeting of equals but ultimately someone needs to be on top of the deal and setting the agenda, if only to agree the objective metrics by which the brand, platform and Executives of the new venture can be set.
The City view seems to me to be adverse to further speculative investment in a competitor to Purple Bricks, logic being that the outcome is likely binary – you can be sure the investment will get spent but you can’t be sure you will get any return. The city does not like a gamble, that is for the Venture Capitalists.
As the owner of an on-line player myself, I’m keen to see the pooled metrics for Tepi-moov in terms of how much listed stock does it have, how many sales are agreed and how many field-based LPE’s?
“As the owner of an online player yourself ” the only way you get an effective cash positive result is by having somebody really good and really energetic, this person will have other options too whether that’s self employed in some other way or prostituted at corporate, nothing looks good online unless you are “the owner of an online player yourself”
This merger has been discussed for 1-2 years now in certain circles. Hasn’t happened previously for numerous reasons on both sides. A lot has changed since and Emoov and Tepilo have negligible growth since. Tepilo double downed on their TV spend and haven’t moved. Emoov launched their own campaign along with 25+ feet on the ground at the start of the year. They’ve hardly moved the needle.
Both have racked up huge losses and this seems to be a desperation play. The only route out for Tepilo and Emoov now is a float.
Does anyone ever see a Tepilo board up? We had one in our area that was there for two years, but it seems to have disappeared now. It was up for so long I wondered if a Tepilo rep lived there and was trying to get some free advertising.
To be fair, i’ve never seen an Emoov board or Tepilo board up, i’ve never been up against either of them on a val. In my opinion despite the TV adverts etc, no one knows who they are. For most vendors thinking of selling if they are looking to pay upfront and take a gamble they choose Purplebricks, if they want a professional approach to selling they choose a high street agent. E or T never get look in.
I have seen one Tepilo board and 0 Emoov boards.
Maybe a dozen or so PB
Its hardly a worry for the here and now.
The channel 4 advertising has not helped Tepilo in last few years. Sure it want do anything now.
Isnt the term mastermind usual attributed to criminals or people who have an evil plan?
No. If it helps you understand better there is a TV show called Mastermind where the contestants are not hatching evil plans but in fact highly knowledgeable.
Tomato/Tomarto
AHHHH… “knowledgeable.”
THAT word. The one that, pre-online Estate Agency, was never used.
By anyone.
EVER.