Agents' Mutual has dismissed speculation that there is private equity involvement in the firm, after questions were raised about the ownership of the domain names for its new OnTheMarket website.
In recent months the comments sections of Estate Agent Today and other online industry news services have included entries raising questions about the ownership of names and domain names OnTheMarket, OnTheMarket.co.uk, OnTheMarket.uk and
OnTheMarket.com.
These names were registered as being owned by Vespa Capital Partners Ltd and the Agents' Mutual chief executive Ian Springett was named as the 'Intellectual Property Office representative name'.
One of the comments on Estate Agent Today asked: Is it fair to consider there are some discretionary funders behind this venture other than the participating agents
However, the challenger portal has batted off the suggestion, saying the Agents' Mutual title was not used at first to avoid the firm showing its hand.
Ian Springett told Estate Agent Today: We did not want the trading name applications or domain acquisitions associated with Agents' Mutual in the pre-announcement period so applied/acquired using a variety of vehicles available to us. All OnTheMarket brand assets will be transferred to and owned by Agents Mutual Ltd in due course.
In fact Vespa Capital Partners - the name and address of which appears on the Intellectual Property Office certificate for the website names and domains - is a business support company owned by the Vespa Capital private equity firm, but separate from it.
There is no overlap of staff, and Partners split from Vespa Capital in 2007.
A spokeswoman for Vespa Capital has told Estate Agent Today that "we absolutely have no financial involvement with, nor financial stake in, Agents Mutual whatsoever, nor have we in the past."
Vespa Capital Partners offers business support and has several clients with no financial or other connection with Vespa Capital.
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Comments
Agents Mutual will be owned by agents, but will it then be completely dependent upon the support services of Ian Springett or Vespa who will milk the business for costs Agents may have a share of the profits, but that is not very useful if the costs charged by Ian Springett and co are so high that there will be no profits left to share with us. EAT please ask more questions!
I smell a rat.
You should care if a business has raised finance under false pretenses.
More questions please EAT.
Who cares As long as AM is a success and gives the agents - the ones who count - a degree of control over their own industry back to them.
My name is Harry Palmer!
'There is no overlap of staff, and Partners split from Vespa Capital in 2007.'.......
Not according to website Companies Check, based on returns done in March. Same current directors for Vespa Capital LLP, Vespa Capital Limited, and Vespa Capital Partners Ltd,
More questions required.........
I don't think it's really casting a shadow if its dispelling a myth that has been pedaled by others in comments sections....isn't that the point of a news service
Is it just me or is EAT trying to cast a shadow over Agents Mutual/On The Market
Well that's'a shut up 'on the fence' and his paranoid ramblings.