Purplebricks moves into profit before it moves into America

Online estate agents Purplebricks has enjoyed “a year of great progress” as it prepares to embark on expansion into America.

Its UK business is expected to deliver its first full-year profit when it publishes its figures next month.

Group chief executive Michael Bruce said he was “excited about our global opportunity” after the company raised £50m to fund the Stateside roll-out. The Solihull-based company plans to launch there in the second half of this year.

The company’s progress in Australia, where it launched last August, has provided confidence that the proposition and business model can succeed overseas.

Its own figures show that that it is saving its Australian customers an average of more than A$12,000 (£7,000) in estate agents’ fees, and has now moved into Perth and Adelaide, having previously set up in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

Its UK business has also performed strongly in the year to April 30, with that part of the group expected to record an adjusted EBITDA profit for the full year.

Bruce said: “This has been a year of great progress across the board. The UK business continues to go from strength-to-strength and the decision to increase marketing spend in the spring market has been successful.

“We have demonstrated that the business model works, with the first expected full year profit in the UK, while our early success in Australia highlights our ability to execute and the broad appeal of the Purplebricks customer proposition.”

Shares in the online estate agent reached an all-time closing high in March, of 353p. Although its price has slipped back since, last night’s close of 317p gives the company a market value of £860m – more than three times its value when it floated in December 2015.

The company has also appointed a new chief financial officer. James Davies, who held the same position at William Hill Online, will replace Neil Cartwright, who is to leave the company due to ill health.