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Purplebricks rolls out money back guarantee amid aims to boost market share

Online estate agent Purplebricks has pledged to repay seller fees if they fail to find a buyer as part of a new pricing strategy to boost its market share.

The firm said the money back guarantee launches nationwide this month after a successful trial in the North West.

It will also roll out a new two-tier pricing offering in July after the pilot as part of a plan for “Purplebricks 2.0” as it looks to increase its share to 10% of the UK market.

But in a blow to the group’s goal, full-year results showed its market share fell to 4.6% from 5.1% the previous year.

The new pricing strategy came as it swung to a £3.6 million pre-tax profit for the year to April 30  against losses of £9.2 million the previous year.

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Revenues jumped 13% to £90.9 million, with total fee income jumping 22% to £87.1 million and new instructions up 14% as Britain’s property market has boomed due to changing buyer demands in the pandemic and the stamp duty holiday.

The full stamp duty holiday ended on June 30, with the tax tapered now until reverting back to normal levels at the end of September.

Purplebricks said: “The market for sales is buoyant at the moment, with fall-through rates at their lowest in a long time, but with the very healthy demand currently outstripping new supply volumes.”

It added it expects supply and demand to return to “more of a balance” after the summer.

The group said it was too early to say how the new pricing will affect results in the new financial year, but that it expects earnings to remain flat, in line with City forecasts.

It expects the overhaul to help it deliver annual revenue growth of over 20% in the medium term.

Vic Darvey, chief executive of Purplebricks, said: “With a simplified proposition and our new pricing structure in place, I am confident that Purplebricks is well-placed to gain market share and to accelerate revenue growth.”