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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Purplebricks shock as finance chief quits at short notice

Purplebricks has this morning announced that chief financial officer Andy Botha is quitting at the end of the month.

In a terse statement to shareholders, no reason is given for Botha’s departure less than 18 months after taking up his £296,000-a-year job.

Paul Pindar, chairman of Purplebricks, is quoted as saying: "On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Andy for his hard work and dedication during his tenure at Purplebricks. We wish him the very best with his future endeavours.” And the company adds: "The Board would like to thank Andy for his valuable contributions to the Company, particularly for his work during a period of organisation transformation against the challenging backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic."

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No other details are given as to why he is leaving.

The departure comes after two key changes at Purplebricks - the announcement of a new pricing strategy for the agency including a form of money back guarantee when the company fails to sell a property for a customer, and after the radical shake-up of the employment structure at Purplebricks - Local Property Experts are now fully employed rather than self-employed.

Meanwhile it’s been announced that Steve Long is to take over as chief financial officer, but not until an unspecified date in the first quarter of next year. 

Long joins from esure Group, the provider of market leading personal lines Motor and Home insurance, where he is currently Finance Director, Strategy & Transformation, responsible for the development, financial management and execution of the firm’s  strategic plans and transformation programme. 

In a statement to shareholders by Purplebricks, Long is described as “a commercially focused CFO, with strong experience in strategic planning, execution and effective delivery of all aspects of the financial management of a business.”

Pinder welcomes Long with the words: “Steve brings strong commercial, financial and strategic experience and a strong track record in delivering growth in a customer facing, technology-focused business. I look forward to working with him and the executive leadership team as we continue to deliver on Purplebricks' growth strategy."

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    I will never forgive this company for the damage it did to the Estate Agency profession. Commisery being just one of several. I would advise all its employees to move on to other employment and the sooner PB folds the better. Certainly better for the industry, the public, conveyancers, etc, etc.

  • Mark Walmsley

    I would like to see a member of Purplebricks board with Estate Agency experience. Simply numbers and tactics an Estate Agency do not make.

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    £296,000 !!! Please tell me how do you get on this gravy train. Somebody needs to sell a lot of houses for that money

  • Samantha Sullivan

    Shock? I'm not in shock, nor am I shocked that the 'top table' are earning such figures at the expense of their agents who are now cattle with very little to gain from working so hard. No respect for them at all.

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    why would you leave such a well paid role, disagreement with financial strategy?

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