OnTheMarket remains defiant despite the decision of Douglas & Gordon, one of its founder agencies, to list once again on Zoopla and Primelocation.
An announcement by ZPG yesterday lunchtime revealed the return of the London-based D&G agency, which back in December 2014 dropped Zoopla under its OTM ‘one other portal‘ obligation. The scrapping of that rule last week allows the agency to return.
Last evening OnTheMarket told EAT: "Douglas & Gordon remains a strong supporter and investor in OnTheMarket and has recently signed a new five-year listing agreement with us."
And Douglas & Gordon's chief executive, James Evans, said this morning: "We have gladly extended our support for OTM for another five years: now D&G offers all three major portals to our clients."
Yesterday, in a statement issued through ZPG, Evans said: “ZPG have historically served our business very well” and described the long-term deal with OnTheMarket’s arch rival as “a win for both our business and our customers.”
When veteran London agent Ed Mead was executive director of Douglas & Gordon both he and the company were fiercely active advocates of OnTheMarket.
Mead became a director of Agents’ Mutual in July 2014 and is still listed in that position.
However, when James Evans moved to D&G from Foxtons in late 2015 Douglas & Gordon became more intensively profit-focussed; some nine months later Mead changed direction and founded the outsourced viewing service Viewber.
Yesterday OTM restated that Arun Estates had re-signed for five years; here is the EAT story reporting the initial announcement back in November.
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Hysterical! No mention of 100 branch member Arun Estates confirming their membership of OTM then or update in share price?
EAT has made perfectly clear its prejudice (while claiming to be a “news” organisation) for long enough. Such unworthy and pitiful commentary from Norwood and Shinerock presented as journalism.
Such a turnoff for those keen to read real news.
Move on please!
Well Simon, you are entitled to your view, for the record I’m not a journalist, also, so you know, OTM has been asked for their side of things many times but won’t engage. Also for the record the pot shouldn’t call the kettle black
Spot on Simon. No mention of D&G staying with OTM either in the newsflash yesterday giving the impression they'd dumped them.
That's why there's a pitiful lack of engagement or debate on here compared to EAT's rival PIE. Pitiful unless there's an anti OTM story of course.
Couldn't agree more with the above two comments. Don't get me wrong if there's good and bad stories print both but EAT's focus on childish OTM bashing is getting pretty tedious to say the least.
PS there shares are up 8p today although I won't hold my breath waiting for the news flash on that.
More real news please and less of your obsession with bashing OTM (Unless there is a real story for a change).
PPS Is EAT affiliated with Zoopla or Rightmove in some way?
I do wish these stories recognised that these agencies are not showing any loyalty or support by signing another five year with OTM. It is a actually a fait accompli because if they don't sign they are held by the OOP rule.
Sure they can boast that they now offer all three portals to their clients but it is plain to see that this entire debacle has ended with us having to pay for an extra portal, which creates a paucity of leads, as well as the big two who have ramped their prices.
EAT are not prejudice they are merely reporting on a farcical situation where we were sold a disruptor mutual portal which promised to temper the portals greed but received the absolute opposite.
I would say that is very much "real news".
Agree with first 2 paras James, but you go off the rails latterly.
If there is no prejudice by EAT, explain why the more positive OTM "news items" I referred to were not reported at all ? The success or failure of competitors to RM and ZPG is certainly newsworthy to Estate Agents, who one would presume EAT regard as their target readership.
But if such blatant bias and constant harping are to be their modus operandi in satisfying their client base (inc. ZPG), surely, we, as readers, we have the right to object ?
Springett's assumed share package (from the AIM listing) was deemed newsworthy to EAT, while EAT was notably silent about Chesterman's, which as I recall, was slightly more at c. £62m. Nearly a third of shareholders are reported to have rebelled against this: was this newsworthy enough ? Apparently not to EAT.
Not wishing to bite the hand that feeds them means that one can only expect "fake news" and I never thought I'd be saying that about a British media outlet now that NOTW has gone.
I recognise your points Simon however, like so many disillusioned 'Early bird' signings, I feel royally rogered.
I agree that EAT's reporting is damning however I can see no silver lining. The Strongest part of OTM is the contracts that bind us to it. Without them this project would be dead, in fact it died when it's premise died. It is now nothing more than an extra financial burden on every estate agent who believed the promises of a man who simply repeated exactly what he did to us with Prime Location.
Trick me once shame on you.......
I see no positives in the OTM story, I’d like to know the terms of the deal done with Arun. My view is not biased it’s just fact that OTM has failed to deliver on its promises and has caused a great deal of antipathy in the industry. Where I do agree is that the story has become tedious and there really isn’t much of an argument anymore, their actions and performance speak for themselves
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