Purplebricks has launched in another region of the UK as speculation continues over the date of its expected flotation.
It has now started marketing properties in Scotland, where it says traditional agents charge an average fee of 1.8 per cent of the total sale price plus VAT - Purplebricks offers a flat fee of £798 inclusive of VAT regardless of selling price, size, location, or property type.
The standard Purplebricks offer of online-based marketing plus local property experts assisting sellers as they wish, will be on offer in Scotland as elsewhere.
“The Scottish property market is booming right now, and our potential to save sellers money is huge” says founder and chief executive Michael Bruce.
Founded by Michael and brother Kenny Bruce in 2014, Purplebricks has grown rapidly in just under two years.
Last week we reported that it was reported to be preparing a stock market listing, valuing it at close to £250m. The company is said to have appointed Zeus Capital, an investment bank, to manage the process.
Sources close to the company say the flotation could happen as early as next month - much earlier than had been anticipated early on in 2015.
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Why do online estate agents ALWAYS over egg the fees. In Scotland the average fee is no where near 1.8% plus vat more nearer 1% plus vat. In fact I only know one agent in Scotland that charges over 1.5% plus vat.
One of our clients looking at houses has gone on with Purple Bricks and cant get out of their contract without paying £1200 and £300 to the solicitor so where does £798 fixed fee come in
Purplebricks seem good at making lots of noise and getting their name out there, but not so good at the nitty-gritty, everyday tasks that come with being an estate agent. I'm sure cases like the one David Redman outlines above are not isolated.
I'm not as anti-online agent as some, but the endless exposure Purplebricks seems to be afforded is a tad tiresome. Are they really worthy of all this attention? Have they actually achieved anything yet? Or is their PR hype machine just as good as Russell Quirk and eMoov's?
@ David. ................. Your client feels a need to leave PB - why? If they have failed to deliver or over promised. The contract may not hold up and they may be able to leave.
Was the consumer mis-sold to??
You have to seriously question the valuation as well! At £798 (£695 net) you would need to sell almost 360,000 properties just to make £250 million. Never mind the cost of running the business.
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