UK property portal Rightmove adds broker advice to its mortgage business

(Reuters) - The UK's largest property portal Rightmove is expanding its mortgage business to offer broker advice to home buyers via its website and targets 25 million pounds ($31.2 million) from the segment by 2028, it said on Monday.

Rightmove said it "took an important strategic step" by launching its first broker product last week.

The FTSE 100 company had been working with Nationwide Building Society since last year on the mortgages front by offering a digital mortgage application process through the Rightmove website.

"That (mortgage business) has grown strongly and now we are expanding that service in partnership with one of our estate agent broker services - their financial arm - to offer even more choice to consumers at a time where interest rate policy has been so changeable," Rightmove CEO Johan Svanstrom told BBC Radio.

Rightmove is expected to reveal more details about the new business later in the day at its investor day event.

The company on Monday lifted its forecast for annual average revenue per advertiser (ARPA), encouraged by increased listings from new homes developers which are rushing to offload property as the property market slows. It is also seeing steady demand from agents looking for renters in a competitive market amid a shortage of rental properties.

Rightmove said in a trading statement that ARPA growth had been driven by increased use from new homes developers of 'native search adverts' - where developer-specific ads appear in common search pages on the website - and 'advanced development listings', which offer exhaustive details of the listed property, including building plans and design specifics.

The company said it now expected annual ARPA to be in the 112 pounds-116 pounds range, ahead of its previous forecast of 103 pounds-105 pounds.

($1 = 0.8025 pounds)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru and Sarah Young in London; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Susan Fenton)