Purplebricks’ share price plunged to an all-time low yesterday, falling to 19.5p.
The online estate agency has seen its share price drop sharply in recent weeks as pressure continues to mount on the firm followings its recent woes.
Regulatory failings have had an adverse impact on the company, contributing to the fall. Shares in the AIM-listed firm have fallen from 103p at the start of January 2021, while the company floated at 95p in December 2015.
Purplebricks was forced in January to delay the publication of its first half results to provide for any potential future claims which could arise under the Housing Act in relation to this regulatory process issue.
The move followed speculation that the online estate agency could potentially face a bill of up to £30m after it allegedly put thousands of landlords at risk of being because it failed to follow basic tenancy law.
EYE revealed in November that Purplebricks had failed to properly serve legally required documents to tenants explaining their deposits have been put into a national protection scheme.
The agency accepts that there could be future claims against the firm, and provisionally estimates a potential financial risk of close to £4m.
Purplebricks, which is currently being investigated by Propertymark for potential tenancy law breaches, said last week that the first half of the trading year has proved difficult, with its market share falling, instructions plummeting, and total fee income dropping sharply.
Purplebricks says outlook ‘remains uncertain’ following ‘challenging’ market
Comments (14)
Music to my ears. After the terrible experience I had with them whilst selling my house in Northern Ireland with them they deserve nothing less than going under.
Frankly if they can’t provide decent customer care and provide staff who actually understand the process of selling and buying properties then what do they really expect? I lost a lot of money because of their incompetence so this is great news finally.
Shellbell1111 you are just one of countless thousands who undoubtedly feel the way you do after your experience – for which I am truly sorry you were ever allowed to be put through.
Thanks to a 2010 OFT ‘Review’ into something they didn’t understand, our government in their wisdom decided to lower the bar of what is expected of the Estate Agency industry.
The review stated
“The definitions of estate agent which trigger a raft of regulation are over 30 years old and do not easily accommodate new business models which may not, in fact, pose risks for consumers. Regulation for these new models could safely be lighter and the current legislation may be preventing, or discouraging, innovation.”
There you go – your issues can be put down to “innovation”. To “progress”.
Beggars belief, doesn’t it?
Is this because Estate Agents don’t ‘Sell ‘ properties any longer, there is nothing an agent can say to make a buyer choose to purchase a particular property. The Agent is now a property marketer, putting photos on to an all powerful internet platform to receive all of the viewing enquiries. A bit of offer shuffling then badger the solicitor to get to completion to claim their exaggerated fee.
Can’t see why this process should be any more regulated than marketing cars, shoes or handbags. The Shellbell1111 post states that all that is needed in this model is customer care and good staff.
LOOK EVERYONE…
Prima facie evidence that despite everyone thinking the contrary, “The No.1 Hybrid Agent Book” hasn’t, despite all beliefs to the contrary, lost the plot.
Clearly highlighted by the above post, “my friend” here clearly never actually knew where the chuffin’ plot was in the first place.
PeeBee here, as usual, talking absolute FACTS.
The words of a traditional high street estate agent plying his trade amongst all those closed down shops in the British high street. A pretense of having a shop filled with phone answering negotiators in order to fool selling clients into thinking it costs thousands of pounds to sell a property.
20% of the new instructions in our location in 2022 have gone to a “non-retail” estate agent. Its a real thing, its progress, its a fairer way for clients to sell a property rather than paying inflated commission for a service with no actual substance to justify the expense.
The plot as you refer to it is the modernization of an industry that still generally operates as they did in the 1980s. Keep your methods, blinker yourself to other possible practices and business models and cease to exist in the fullness of time.
“The words of a traditional high street estate agent plying his trade amongst all those closed down shops in the British high street.”
Nope!
Im sure this post will get deleted but I can not wait for the day Purplebricks falls flat on its face and all the back stabbing management (you know who you are) feel the pain we went through, struggling to pay mortgages etc.
Some of the back stabbers have got away with getting other jobs in the industry, one day their employers will see them for who they really are.
Lets just hope some of the backstabbers see this before it gets deleted.
Apart from that rant, have a great day everyone. (apart from ANYONE who is or was management at Purplebricks)
Oh, the irony… joined a ‘disruptor’ and didn’t like being disrupted!
You picked the wrong job, sunshine, and it seemingly proved itself to be exactly that.
Unless you were one of the first in, there were warnings aplenty available to be had – so basically you ignored the writing on the wall and jumped feet-first into a field where the grass was dyed to look greener.
Sorry – but you need to take responsibility for your own bad choice. You can’t say you weren’t copiously warned…
No doubt your ‘have a great day’ wish will be rescinded to me despite my never having been part of the PurpleMonster – but I assure you I will have one regardless, and wish you one also.
After all, life post-PB must be a frickin’ breeze!
Gotta love anyone that refers to people as ‘sunshine’, its like all those agency middle managers that finish everything they say to you with ‘my friend’ when they clearly aren’t your friend but wish to exert some mystical, passive aggressive, force over what they have just told you to do, I love estate agents..
Awww… don’t you just love it when birds of a feather flock together!
A bit of mutual post-liking and dislike the nasty man’s who says howwible howwible things and the world all goes back into the shape you’ve convinced yourselves it is.
Sweet. In a weally, weally nauseous kinda way…
I bet you’re a joy to work with, my friend.
I am, funnily enough. A regular frickin’ dream of a workmate – as long as you do what you’re meant to do.
I somehow suspect you wouldn’t enjoy the experience one little bit. My “friend”.
Beautifully put, the original concept was great the early management and agents that got it going were superb. Now its just a ghost of its former self that so many can’t wait to see fully die because of the staggeringly poor treatment of its people in recent times.