Purplebricks has spring in its step after investor knocks on the door

The largest digital publishing house in Europe has bought a significant stake in Purplebricks to help the estate agent with its overseas expansion. However, the move failed to stop its shares falling yesterday amid disappointing sales in Britain. Purplebricks said that Axel Springer, which owns German newspapers such as Bild and Die Welt, had bought an 11.5% stake for £125m. Andreas Wiele, president of Axel Springer’s classified media division, will take a place on the board of the Aim-listed company. The FT said that the estate agent’s  stock fell as much as 10% on Monday before picking up a little to 8% lower, reflecting signs from the company that the business has stumbled in the early part of this year. Click here for the full Times article (£) Click here for the full Telegraph article Click here for the full FT article