Estate agent Purplebricks to sell to rival Strike for £1

Online estate agent Purplebricks is selling itself to rival Strike for £1. Strike will take on all of Purplebricks liabilities under the deal, with any remaining cash, up to a maximum of £5.5m, distributed to shareholders. The firm had an estimated £9.1m cash in the bank at the end of April, but this is understood to have fallen since. Last year Purplebricks made a pre-tax loss of £42m. The announcement comes a week after Purplebricks warned shareholders that a sale would not offer good value for money. The announcement of the deal has sliced the value of the company’s stock in half to 0.68p. Purplebricks chairman Paul Pindar said that the board was unanimously recommending the sale to shareholders but added: “I am disappointed with the financial value outcome, both as a 5% shareholder myself and for shareholders who have supported the company under my and the board’s stewardship. “However, there was no other proposal or offer which provided a better return for shareholders, with the same certainty of funding and speed of delivery necessary to provide the stability the company needs.” In February, after a turbulent year, the firm said that it was conducting a strategic review to look at an “alternative ownership structure”. The formal sale process was launched on 1 March 2023, after it said that “preliminary conversations” had been held around the potential for an equity fund raise, adding that it had “received several credible expressions of interest in relation to the sale”. With effect from completion of the proposed sale, Helena Marston is resigning from her role as chief executive. She said: “When I became chief executive 12 months ago, my focus was a wholesale raising of standards within the business and to chart a course towards positive cash generation. “This included delivering £21m of cost savings, stabilising lettings, new revenue streams, raising our prices and much improved financial transparency and control.” Marston said that the firm had achieved many of these goals but that her and the board had decided the firm would be better placed to realise its full potential under private ownership. Marston added: “However, the strategic review and formal sale process created increased uncertainty in the business, resulting in a need to draw this process to conclusion, which has also been accentuated by the timing of expiry of our relationship which lets us provide pay later solution. “Taking the actions we did has allowed us to secure a solvent outcome, which protects the future of the business and the Purplebricks consumer-driven brand, alongside the benefits of further investment.” To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews