ITV backs Purplebricks with £4.5 million ‘equity for ads’ deal
TV giant says it believes Purplebricks and its parent firm Strike continue to 'disrupt the estate agency market' and has inked a deal which will see a barage of adverts kicking off this summer.
ITV has invested once more in Strike, the company that now trades as Purplebricks, via a £4.5 million ‘equity for advertising space’ deal, it has been announced.
In 2021 the broadcaster put money directly into Strike when the agency raised £11 million from investors, ITV at the time claiming that Strike would “shake up the estate agency industry”.
From this summer onwards it will give Purplebricks adverts worth an initial £1.5 million with a further option for another two deals each worth £1.5 million across the ITV channel network including ITVX, its online ‘catchup’ platform.
In return the broadcaster will be given convertible loan notes in Strike Limited to the value of each deal. Strike bought Purplebricks for £1 last year after the estate agency ran out of cash.
Most popular
ITV claims Purplebricks is the UK’s ‘most popular estate agency’ and ‘continues to disrupt the property industry by allowing customers to sell their homes for free’.
Sheena Amin, Director of ITV AdVentures, said: “I’m delighted to be completing our first media for equity investment of the year into Strike.
“The powerful combination of Strike’s consumer proposition which allows homeowners to sell their house for free together with the Purplebricks brand, makes the business a great fit for a media for equity investment.
“We believe that the company is well positioned to continue their disruption of the estate agent market and we aim to help build both their brand awareness and market share by using the power of TV to bring their message to millions of viewers.”
200 years
Sam Mitchell, CEO of the Purplebricks Group, adds: “This is an exciting moment for Purplebricks as we partner with ITV in a significant Media for Equity deal.
“The process for buying and selling properties hasn’t changed in almost 200 years, but thanks to Purplebricks, customers are now able to sell their home for free, with no hidden costs.
“ITV will help us take that message to homes across Britain as we continue to build on the strong momentum of the past six months.”
Agents who wonder why ITV is sinking so much money into Strike/Purplebricks should delve into the ITV corporate website, which says: “As the leading commercial broadcaster in the UK, we are seeking to partner with […] the entrepreneurs building Britain’s high-growth businesses in order to rapidly accelerate [them].”
Several years ago Channel 4 struck a similar deal with agent comparison website Get Agent.
Read the story behind Purplebricks here.
You’d think an organisation as large & experienced as ITV would do their homework before trusting the exaggerated promises of an already discredited service that has previously failed. Ho hum, more good money being thrown after bad & lots of very red faces a few months down the line!