Purplebricks has issued the following notice to the City.
Purplebricks Group plc (AIM: PURP), the UK’s leading hybrid estate agency, today announces that Chief Financial Officer, James Davies, has advised the Board of his intention to resign from the Company and the Board effective from 8 May 2020.
The Company is pleased to announce that Andrew Botha will be joining Purplebricks as Chief Financial Officer, effective from 11 May 2020 subject to the completion of the customary due diligence checks required by the AIM Rules.
Mr Botha joins from online travel group Secret Escapes and was previously Group CFO at ZPG, the digital media business that owns and operates some of the UK’s most recognised online brands including digital property portal Zoopla, PrimeLocation, uSwitch and Money.co.uk.
From his time at Zoopla, Andrew has developed a strong understanding of the UK hybrid property market.
He has also worked for a number of other publicly quoted and privately-owned digital businesses, including Lastminute.com, Betfair and Notonthehighstreet.
Andrew has more than 25 years’ business experience and brings with him an extensive background in corporate finance, financial planning and analysis, investor relations, strategic planning and risk management.
Paul Pindar, Chairman of Purplebricks, commented:
“On behalf of the Board I would like to thank James for his hard work and dedication during his tenure at Purplebricks.
“We wish him the very best with his future endeavours.
“I am delighted to welcome Andy to the Board as Chief Financial Officer.
“Andy has a remarkable track record in growing digital businesses, and I look forward to working with him and the executive management team to execute Purplebricks’s strategy.”
James Davies commented:
“It has been an exceptional privilege to have been part of the growth and success of Purplebricks.
“I joined when it was a nascent challenger brand and today it ranks as the UK’s largest estate agency by volume.
“I am proud to have been on that journey.
“Notwithstanding the current COVID-19 circumstances, the Company is in a strong financial position and ready for its exciting next stage of development and success.”
no financial officer would just resign at such a crucially important time. Must therefore have been pushed.
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As they’ve hired a replacement I would suspect he might have resigned a few months ago. Unless of course they lined up a replacement before they asked him to leave…
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Mind you I would not have envied his job. In the last three years the share price has fallen from over 500p to a low of 23 and today when I looked just under 40p. Imagine the pressure from investors.
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“Andrew has more than 25 years’ business experience and brings with him an extensive background in… investor relations… and risk management.”
He’s gonna be one busy PurpleBunny come May 11, then!
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Nice guy, but really rubbish at his job.
The company is in far worse shape than when he arrived. Hard work and dedication counts for nothing if you don’t have the skills to deliver.
I’m not sure if he’ll want PB on his CV, but then again, with his exorbitant £600k+ wage he might just be retiring early.
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“The company is in far worse shape than when he arrived.”
It was never going to be in better shape. That ship set sail towards the iceberg before he boarded.
Quite simply, people woke up to the stench of coffee filling their nasal passages.
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Mind you, he had Lastminute.com on his CV – they managed to reduce shareholder value at just about the same rate.
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Yeah a nascent challenger brand worth £1.4 billion when he joined and now worth just over £100 million now he’s leaving!
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‘Andy has a remarkable track record in growing digital businesses’
There we have it – it’s no longer about ‘local property experts’ – supposed experts helping other people – but about a ‘digital busines’ platform they are growing.
I would expect this comment to be seized on by the media and Rightmove/zoopla etc to see how a ‘digital’ only business fits within their terms of business that places service/ professional standards on subscribing clients.
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“There we have it – it’s no longer about ‘local property experts’ – supposed experts helping other people – but about a ‘digital busines’ platform they are growing.”
It never was about the LPEs, haveathink – it was always about growing a business.
They just managed to fool 600+ people (at any one time) otherwise.
But for those that woke up and saw the PurpleEmperor’s winky (credit: Robert May) it was too late.
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Does he also have a magic money tree as in order to grow the digital business, a significant amount of investment in building technology will be required. Purplebricks’ technology has not changed in 6 years. The website is the same as when launched, there’s been no enhancement. Many processes that even a less ‘tech’ driven independent agency has automated are still done manually at PB. In short, there is NOT any tech worthy of mention, the innovation left with the Bruce Bros (not saying much there); PB is a busted flush.
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As an aside, John Wick 1 …..Good, John Wick 2 …..lost its way, John Wick 3 ….lost.
Thankfully Keanu likes Motorcycles ……so, all is duly forgiven.
Now, where were we …..Mr Anderson?
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Typical media spin…. “CFO jumps from sinking ship” angle could surely have as easily be written as “Purplebricks appoints new CFO instrumental in selling ZPG for £2.5bn…”
As others have already suggested, I’m not sure anyone jumped…
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You’re new here, aren’t you?
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……..and the winds blow cold through the empty CEO’s Office at OTM? Are they building a New CEO to replace Ian?
PB are just hiring a “sticking plaster” ….no doubt a very expensive one.
Post C19 the last thing any Vendor should be looking for is an Upfront/“Honest, we’re just like an Estate Agent?” company like PB, to sell their most valuable financial asset.
PB are shuddering to their foundations and if they burnt through money pre C19, how much more will they burn through post C19. PB even jinxed Team GB!
Andrew Botha will be singing “the only waaaaaaay is UP” ……whilst clutching his rosary beads (or equivalent).
Sink or Swim Andrew …..over to You.
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When you’re raping a company out of £50,000 a month, it can’t last forever, especially if you have nothing that you’re bringing to the table.
He wasn’t good at his job (hence the typical canned response from PB) and he certainly didn’t treat the staff right either.
I bet they got Botha cheap.
Darvey is next.
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Derek? …….I’m all for a bit of colourful language, however your 3rd word, 1st line of your post ……delete or asterisk it. It’s not an appropriate word in any setting.
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They won’t be around much longer so why Botha!? (see what I did there..) #sorrynotsorry
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Whilst I’m indifferent to PB I do wish anyone who has a new job to do in these times all the best-I assume he has a family/mortgage etc like anyone of us. I hope he has yet to discover PIE and doesn’t read these threads today
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If he doesn’t check PIE, what’s he doing in the industry?
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The guy deserves to be pushed.
He was the architect (or one of) behind the recent restructure, karma that.
By all accounts he is a nasty piece of work to senior management.
It was said recently (two days ago) by one of the Sales Directors he is just a nasty person towards others. I would imagine that toxicity would not be wanted there.
Quite why he’s so sure of himself is beyond me. He had done an appalling job. He should of resigned before he was pushed. Oh he did.
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I am not surprised. Although many believe Purplebricks is a great platform, I personally think that to pay £1,499 to buy a listing space on Zoopla and Rightmove (which is basically all Purplebricks have to offer) is a lot of money. Best Matteo Alex&Matteo Estate Agents
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Well…
You would have assumed that this “major news” should have set the stock market alight – one way or another…
…but it didn’t – really.
A 4.5% increase day-on-day sounds good – but when you think that equates to less than 2p on a share, no-one got substantially richer… or poorer for that matter… with the news that one Financial wombat exits to the right and another will enter to from the left and business will be as usual.
Except of course this isn’t a “usual business”. It’s one built on smoke and mirrors… supported by claims and dreams… and surviving on sheer luck and desperation.
Basically, The City reacted with a yawn. Or it might have been a suppressed f@rt – not sure which.
It is however interesting that just before 2pm yesterday afternoon – BEFORE the news broke …or was it…? of Mr Davies’ impending departure, there was a single deal of some 12.9 MILLION shares. Whether that is an extremely late showing of Tossafund’s recent mahoosive dump (doubtful as the dealings for 2/4 ), or a new sell/buy that should produce its’ own RNS is to be seen.
Anyway – Mr Davies’ escape is far from secret. But with HMRC etc issues still apparently pending for stuff that must have happened on his watch, will he get a clean break?
And where next? Three years at Purplebricks… two at William Hill before that.
Which toss-of-a-coin outfit will he tip up at next I wonder?
Bets are open…
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Just to help, James Davies CFO, why is he leaving now? Well has it to do with the 30th of April 2020? The day that marks the end of Purplebricks financial year? I think so.
The figures are in and someone has to walk the plank. We mere mortals may not hear what the Purplebricks financials really are until June, but we know that cash reserves will be through the floor, and income will have stalled pre-Covid-19.
With Toscafund divesting in Purplebricks and the share price dropping like a brick post the revelation of 18M of fee being held by Purplebricks ‘for not selling’ over 21,000 properties for disappointed vendors in 2019, we are possibly at the end of Purplebricks in its present form.
The questions that remain are, will Axel Springer take full control and take it private? Will it then become – further automated and a vendor list service … the ultimate agent lite experience? I think we will soon see.
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Andrew Stanton
Well it was only announced in a RNS on the 31st March the other week they still have £35m in the Tommy.To be fair that is a lot healthier than the majority of their listed brethren
CWD who will be pushing up to £100m in debt and with branch rents cranking away at maybe £1m pcm would certainly be envious ,Unlike Foxtons ,CWD with a current market valuation of £20m their capital raising prospects are limited
Unfortunately with Axel recently going private ,this has required some heavy duty financing so they are under the cosh themselves
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