‘Complacent’ Rightmove has thrown in towel claims proptech boss

Rightmove has been accused of “throwing in the towel” after returning £100 million to its shareholders rather than investing in new tech developments.

Michael Nettleton (main image), founder of CRM platform Agent Response, says the UK’s leading portal is showing a lack of commitment to innovation.

This action suggests that Rightmove might have run out of creative ways to deploy its capital.”

“This action suggests that Rightmove might have run out of creative ways to deploy its capital for growth, which is concerning for a company in an industry with so much potential for innovation,” he says.

“The best firms build moats around their businesses and continually invest in innovation. They don’t rest on their laurels or become complacent with their success.”

He claims Rightmove could learn a lot from giants like Amazon and Walmart. “These companies are relentless in their pursuit of innovation, consistently pushing boundaries and exploring new opportunities.”

Spell trouble

Rightmove’s decision to return £100 million to shareholders may be a short-term win for investors, but it could spell trouble for the company’s long-term prospects if it doesn’t “step up its game” in innovation, he says.

The portal published its half-year results last week showing revenue up 7% to £192 million, of which £100 million is being returned to shareholders via dividends and share buy-backs. Its market share remained steady at 86%.

Advised to sell

Last year, Rightmove shareholders were advised to sell after the £100 million takeover of rival OnTheMarket. OTM was bought by global property data group CoStar in a clear move designed to challenge the dominance of Rightmove in the portal listings market.

Multinational investment bank Citigroup made a recommendation to release Rightmove shares after seeing their value drop from around 588p when the deal was announced to 463p. The current price is 563p.