Rightmove reveals revenue up 7% and £3m spent on Coadjute
Portal reveals higher revenue from individual agents despite admitting its been difficult times for many sales agents, and says Coadjute investment is for the long haul.
Rightmove has published its half-year results including revenue up by 7% but also revealing that it spent £3 million buying an 8% share of conveyancing platform Coadjute.
Coadjute raised £10 million in April this year from a group of big firms including Rightmove but also NatWest, Nationwide and NatWest, but the invididual investments were not published at the time.
The portal’s latest results also reveal it believes Coadjute’s potential to transform the house purchase process in the UK is “immense” but that the “journey will take some time”.
Rightmove can certainly afford to wait. Its latest half year results reveal revenue up by 7% to £192.1 million of which £100m is being returned to shareholders via dividends and share buy-backs.
Its market share remained steady at 86% and average revenue per agent increased by 6% to £1,497, with 36% of agents now using its prime Optimiser package.
Agent growth
Rightmove says that it still expects to see it full-year results include a 2% growth in estate agency members despite fresh competition from an invigorated OnTheMarket.
“We’re pleased to deliver strong of H1 results, and to be progressing in executing our plan to build an even more valuable digital platform for the UK property industry,” says Johan Svanstrom (main image) its CEO.
“Our performance came against the backdrop of the sustained challenging mortgage rate environment.
“The period saw a pick-up in existing homes listings and transactions, a continued yet softening imbalance of demand and supply for rentals, and a tentative outlook for news homes development volumes.”
Reaction
Anthony Codling, RBC Capital Markets
“A strong set of results from Rightmove this morning; when the housing market is buoyant the portal makes a lot of money, and when the housing market is tough it also makes a lot of money – suggesting that come rain or shine the UK’s love affair with property has firmer foundations than the underlying economy.
“House prices and rents may be out of reach for many, but that doesn’t stop UK households turning to Rightmove to get their property fix.”
