PurpleBricks set to have market dominance tested following £13m investment in rival

SOLIHULL-based online estate agency PurpleBricks is set to have its market dominance tested following a £13m investment in a competitor.

HouseSimple has secured the investment from Sir Charles Dunstone, founder of Carphone Warehouse, and his business partner Roger Taylor.

Over the past 12 months, HouseSimple, founded by Alex and Sophie Gosling, has established itself as the second largest online estate agent in the UK behind PurpleBricks.

It now wants to ascend a further rung on the ladder and supplant its rival from their lofty perch.

Its plan is based on capitalising on the substantial growth enjoyed by the business – with property listings trebling in the past year alone.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “These are exciting times for HouseSimple. We are relentlessly focused on delivering the best selling results for our customers, and with this latest funding round we are confident we can increase our selling success rate and achieved selling price even further.”  

Charles Dunstone said: “Our homes are our most valued assets, and HouseSimple delivers a fundamentally better service at a fraction of the cost. It’s only a matter of time before everyone realises HouseSimple’s data-led approach can help them sell their homes for more, with less hassle.”

Sir Charles founded Carphone Warehouse in 1989. Roger Taylor joined the business  as CFO in 1999, a year prior to Carphone Warehouse’s IPO. In 2003, TalkTalk was established. It was demerged from Carphone in 2010.

In 2013, Sir Charles and Mr Taylor created Freston Ventures as a vehicle for private investments. To date, they have invested in Five Guys, the burger restaurants, Student Castle, student accommodation, and ME+EM, the luxury women’s fashion brand.