Profit and revenue through the roof at online estate agency Purplebricks
SOLIHULL-based online estate agency Purplebricks has seen its gross profit increase by a huge 814% in the six months ended October 31.
And revenue was up by 777% over the same period.
The company, which listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in December, revealed that profit had increased from £0.4m in H1 2015 to £4.1m in H1 2016. Revenue went up from £0.8m to £7.2m in the same period.
Purplebricks has a stated intention to “change the whole experience of selling, buying and letting property”.
It has grown rapidly since its regional launch in April 2014.
The firm said it had had a strong end to the first half, with October revenues year-on-year up 579%.
Customer service continues to be rated “excellent”, averaging 9.4 from over 3,500 Trustpilot reviews.
Purplebricks has seen an increase in online market share from 43% in April 2015 to 60% as at 31 October 2015 and has become the fourth largest estate agent2 within 18 months of launch.
Net cash at 31 October 2015 of £9.7m was bolstered subsequently by the net £22.8m of growth capital raised in the December listing.
Purplebricks said trading in the second half of the financial year has started well with a 275% year-on-year increase in the number of instructions, with January alone currently at 1,660 and expected to exceed 2,000.
This has been supported by a new marketing campaign, which went live on Boxing Day.
Chief executive Michael Bruce said: “We have made great progress across the business in the last six months, culminating in our listing on the AIM market in December.
“The money raised will be used to deepen our national coverage through the recruitment of top quality local property experts and further investment in technology and marketing. This will build on our position as the number one next generation estate agent.
“Our compelling proposition of personalised, high quality service and affordable fees provides the best of both worlds, resonating with a growing number of customers and posing a fundamental challenge to traditional estate agents, who currently dominate the £4bn market.”
