Purplebricks expands into Canada with £30m acquisition

Purplebricks has bought Canadian estate agents DuProprio/ComFree (DPCF) for £29.3m in a deal that significantly expands its overseas presence.

DPCF is a commission-free real estate service network and operates in a similar way to the Solihull-based business.

Marco Dodier, president of DPCF, said: “We admire Purplebricks for what they have achieved across three continents in just four years. We share their ambition and desire to offer consumers a new and better way to buy and sell property.”

The acquisition follows the £125m strategic investment by Axel Springer in Purplebricks, which was designed to accelerate its global growth.

Purplebricks already has a good foothold in Australia and has been expanding in the United States. Last month it launched in Las Vegas, Nevada and Phoenix, Arizona, which added to its existing presence in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

Michael Bruce, global chief executive of Purplebricks, said: “[DPCF’s] model of bringing a range of service packages and support, with access to expertise from coaches to legal professionals, is proving highly attractive to the Canadian public, and has aspects in common with the Purplebricks’ model and ethos in the UK, Australia and the US.

“Expanding the geographical footprint across Canada and building the company’s buy-side offering provides the potential to transform the size of the DPCF business and consolidate its market leadership.”