Speculation is growing that Purplebricks could soon return to private ownership almost six and a half years after launching on the London Stock Exchange.
A tipster for the Daily Mail, citing insider City sources, predicts that Purplebricks – valued at £60m – is vulnerable to a takeover.
The online estate agent, which listed in December 2015, later hitting highs of almost £5 in 2017, has seen its share price drop to just 20p 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.
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 came after the firm 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.
Higher staffing costs and a drop in new housing supply has not helped.
The Daily Mail tipster says the ‘smart money’ is on a take-private deal by Axel Springer, the German media and tech conglomerate, which remains its largest shareholder, with 26% of the stock.
£60m….. right…* *eyes roll into the back of head Honestly, what a world we live in. Since it’s inception, PB’s has been overvalued at every chance they had to beat their chest to the media. There were only a few who ever made unwarranted amounts of money from it, who were being interviewed and held in somewhat high regard by ‘industry commentators’. Time to call bull#*#* …. Again.
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Can someone please explain HOW can it be worth £60m when it’s never made any money??
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I am not gong to claim to know its precise value right now, but Purple Bricks is an outstanding acquisition opportunity due mainly to its proprietary database. The untapped CRM potential in Purple Bricks combined with a reform of its business model offers enormous potential and I for one am happy to buy some shares at current levels as it looks a certainty for a buy out..
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Couldn’t agree more. Rumours of a buyout almost always cause stock prices to go up and the buyout won’t be at £60m, it’ll be at £100m or £150m which represents both an excellent investment for Axel Springer (only having to fork out 74% of the cash and having that untapped CRM that you mention) and a great initial investment for someone like you who, as they say, has bought low and sold high.
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“The Daily Mail tipster says the ‘smart money’ is on a take-private deal by Axel Springer, the German media and tech conglomerate, which remains its largest shareholder, with 26% of the stock”………LOL
Next month, look out for my game changing, disrupting new business where I will pay you to let me sell your house……
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500 million to 60 million and falling! What a business!
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500 million to 60 million and falling!
Actually, Russell121, it’s £1+ BILLION to 60 million and falling!
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Still not as impressive as eMoov which went from a valuation of £100m (allegedly) to zero overnight !!
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Just like another business that went from a supposed £100m [ahem] to zero…..
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I am currently not losing £2million per month. So what am I worth relative to this?
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