Veteran agent backs legal fight with Rightmove over fees
Trevor Abrahmsohn, MD of Glentree Estates, accuses Rightmove and Zoopla of "insatiable and ravenous appetites" for the amounts they charge estate agents.
High profile agent Trevor Abrahmsohn has accused Rightmove and Zoopla of “insatiable and ravenous appetites” for the fees the portals charge.
Abrahmsohn, who was a founder of OnTheMarket, also threw his weight behind a legal action worth £1.5 billion against Rightmove.
A claim against Rightmove was filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal recently, with a huge damages figure. The action is being brought by Jeremy Newman, a former panel member of the Competition and Markets Authority.
Monopolistic
Now, Abrahmsohn, MD of Glentree International (pictured), which he founded in the 1970s, has written to Newman offering his support for the class action.
“I have read in the press about your sterling efforts on behalf of a group of estate agents trying to secure justice against the monopolistic actions of Rightmove,” he says.
This was the last bastion of support for the agents against the insatiable and ravenous appetites of Zoopla and Rightmove.”
“I am not sure if you are aware that I was the founder of OnTheMarket.com and strenuously objected to the final sale to CoStar, since this was the last bastion of support for the agents against the insatiable and ravenous appetites of Zoopla and Rightmove which have grown big and strong by sucking the nutrients out of the agents’ coffers.
“If it is possible and not too late for my company to join the fray, I would certainly want to do so.”
Last week, estate agent star of The Apprentice TV show Kieran McCartney slammed Rightmove as “bloody expensive”, and called on fellow agents to boycott the portal.
A spokesman for Rightmove said: “Rightmove is confident in the value we provide to our partners and consumers, who are at the core of our business solutions and digital platform.
“As one of the most efficient parts of the UK housing market, we help people across the UK to move home by bringing buyers, sellers, renters, landlords and agents together.
“Rightmove’s platform continues to provide a growing range of constantly evolving products and features which facilitate market transparency, liquidity and confidence. The claim is without merit, and we will defend it vigorously.”
Zoopla declined to comment.
