Purplebricks marketing officer pockets £309,000 profit from shares he owned for just ten days

Purplebricks’ chief marketing officer has sold a large chunk of shares in the online agent, turning a very quick profit in the process.

Joby Russell sold the 243,618 shares shares last Friday at 140p per share, netting him £341,065.

He had owned the shares for just ten days, exercising an option to buy them at 12.93p, costing him a total of £31,499.

In ten days he therefore made a profit of £309,566 – equating to £30,956 per day for ten days.

Analysts at Jefferies, who continue to give Purplebricks an ‘underperform’ rating, yesterday sent out a note to investors headed: “Selling shares quicker than they sell homes.”

It noted that the shares were sold on the same day that LSL, the UK’s second largest estate agency, issued a profits warning.

Jefferies said: “We were surprised that Mr Russell, who describes PB as ‘the UK’s most remarkable estate agency and one of the country’s fastest growing businesses’ sold 243,618 shares at 140p, having only exercised the options on those shares on 12 July at a price of 12.93p.

“His holding period of ten days is therefore four days fewer than the average time (of 14 days) it takes PB to find a buyer for its customers’ homes.”

Russell was previously marketing director at comparison site Confused.com before moving to Purplebricks in June last year. He had already been a non-executive director at Purplebricks.

Since the share sale, he is said to retain a “substantial” interest in Purplebricks.

The biggest shareholder in Purplebricks is star fund manager Neil Woodford, owning 28.6% through Woodford Investment Management

 

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28 Comments

  1. Trevor Mealham

    Is the name ‘Russell’ becoming synonymous with cheap/ budget estate agency.

    Agency that could cost sellers £housands

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  2. Chri Wood

    Give it a few more days and I predict this story will grow legs.

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    1. PeeBee

      Legs… a coat of coarse hair… a tail… and maybe even some ears.

      ‘Cos eee awww… eee awww… eee awwwt to know better than send out these messages…

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  3. AndrewOverman

    Anyone else get the impression there’s more to follow?

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  4. digitalfix

    Good on him.  He’s only doing what he is entitled to; it’s probably enough to clear the mortgage… on his boat.

    But wait… what does the ‘Oracle’ Robert May make of this?…

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    1. PeeBee

      A H£11 of a lot more realism and sense than you clearly do…

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      1. PeeBee

        You no Likee?

        Awww… diddums.

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    2. Robert May

      What anyone earns is no business or concern of mine.

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  5. agency negotiation limited

    Chief Marketing Officer? Has anybody seen the latest TV ads? Does anybody know what Purplebricks stands for apart from cheap? Do they have a culture that vendors can connect with, or are they just opportunist money-grabbers that follow the BHS business model?

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    1. Trevor Mealham

      If a service doesn’t achieve best price? then a service isnt cheap. I have an example where a online fee (no sale no fee) model charged more for selling. But achieved over £100k than a cheap list agent.

      As such the higher cost agent was MUCH much better value.

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      1. PeeBee

        As such the higher cost agent was MUCH much better value.’

        Yes – in that instance.  But what if – and I mean what if – another, High-Street office-based (for example) Agent could have got an even better price than your online-only ‘example’?

        That being the case, your “much better value” suddenly becomes expensive to the property owners, Mr Mealham – does it not?

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        1. PeeBee

          I’m sorry – you ‘Dislike’ fact?

          Proper strange kind of person, you are…

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  6. Typhoon

    Watch this space. Rats, sinking ship, leaving, comes to mind!

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  7. Farmer

    Classic way to get ‘paid’ when no one in the business is making or ever likely to make money.

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  8. Thomas Flowers

    So let us look at the PB finances:

    They turned over 18 million pounds last year and lost 12 million pounds. ie their operating cost is 1.5 million per month and they made 0,5 million per month.

    Therefore, in order to break even they shall have to triple their turnover this year.

    I do not believe that this is very likely. Another year of loses shall severely knock their stock price and confidence…..will PB ever make a profit in the UK?

    Therefore, PB shall have to raise their fees closer to what traditional independent agents charge in the average market place which shall then blow their only real USP….cheap!

    That is why they shall have to look at more expensive agency markets such as Australia where they could charge much more and therefore stand a chance of making some money…..funded by the UK share offering?

     

     

     

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    1. PeeBee

      Mr Flowers – is my maths out, or should you have posted

      ‘…and they made 0,5 million per month loss.’?

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      1. Thomas Flowers

        Afternoon PeeBee

        They made (turnover) 0.5 million per month but lost 1.0 million per month.

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        1. PeeBee

          Ahhh… I see!

          The mechanics threw me – I’m with you now.

          Only one small point to make… with regard to your suggestion that they need to triple turnover to break even – isn’t it the accepted norm that Call-Centre agents lose money?

          Why would they – or any other of that model for that matter – want to break the mould?

          ;o)

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  9. PeeBee

    PB share price down today… 4.25p from start of dealing.

    Interesting times ahead…

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    1. The JB

      This does stink like fortnight old kippers doesn’t it!

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    2. digitalfix

      Spoken like a true ‘day trader’ that clearly knows his way around the capital markets.

      What you meant to say was… “40% up on the initial IPO (just) a little over 7 months ago.”

      With the velocity of that stock (look at the trading volumes if you are unsure) you’d be a fool to ignore the fact that the investor community (for reference that’s hedge funds, pension funds and global institutions) are backing this type of horse.

      But I guess I’d be a fool to ignore the wisdom of a local estate agent who takes assurance from a 7 hour trading window.

       

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      1. spin2009

        Does that include an hour for lunch?

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      2. PeeBee

        What you meant to say was… “40% up on the initial IPO (just) a little over 7 months ago.”

        Nah – what I meant to say was ‘their share price has been up and down more often than the hosiery of a tuppenny trollop, actually.

        Today’s events were clearly just coincidence in your considered opinion.

        Good – then thousands of shareholders can breathe a mahoosive sigh of relief – especially those that bought at 1.75, a mere twelve weeks ago…

        Let’s see what kind of assurances the next few seven hour trading windows bring – shall we?

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        1. PeeBee

          Oh… I love it when you hate it.

          I must be somewhere near the truth…

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  10. LocalAgent201625

    Got no issue with PB – Their model is by far the most superior compared to other online agents. But they have a lot of unnecessary costs which will ultimately be their downfall.

     

    Don’t get me started on their adverts, those two TWONKS drive me insane.

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    1. PeeBee

      I’m afraid ‘those two TWONKS’ as you rightly call them are the reason why unsuspecting people are going to them in numbers, I’m afraid.  The same way that eenshoooorance is now ‘sold’ by a meerkat, dodgy opera singer or a robot (yet another ‘original’ idea from a Call-Centre Agent that was conceived elsewhere…) – and men bought Hi Karate because they thought that Valerie Leon was going to come along and smother them with her jubblies.

      Ironic that the cries of ‘it all happens online, dunnit?’ are fuelled entirely upon using other, traditional, media to get them the business in the first instance.

      And the same goes for the portals as well.

      Funny, that.

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      1. The JB

        I for one relish the resurgence in popularity of Hi-Karate.

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  11. xxx58

    Why has the post regarding the Bruce Brothers “running” of JKM and Burchell Edwards disappeared ? I would have been interested to have seen feedback on that!!

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