OnTheMarket closes lettings software arm in surprise move

Exactly a year after CoStar’s takeover of OnTheMarket was announced, the portal has taken the surprise decision to close its lettings software arm.

OnTheMarket Software, which was formerly known as Teclet, will stop trading next June after OTM carried out a strategic review.

Trim costs

Last October it was announced global property data giant CoStar Group was buying OTM for £100 million.

And it appears OnTheMarket Software may have fallen foul of the American company’s drive to trim costs.

The difficult decision has been made that OnTheMarket Software will cease operation.”

A spokesperson for OnTheMarket told The Neg: “Following a strategic review of our business, the difficult decision has been made that OnTheMarket Software will cease operations as of 30th June 2025.

“All contracts will be fulfilled, and the team will continue trading as normal until then. We remain committed to ensuring this transition is as seamless as possible for our agents.”

Fully acquired

OTM fully acquired Teclet in 2021 after exercising its option to buy the remaining 80% of shares in its controlling company Glanty Ltd for a deal that was said to be worth £12 million.

In 2022, the Teclet lettings CRM system was repurposed to target the sales market.

And later that year, OTM launched ‘OnTheMarket Software’, ditching the Teclet brand.

Last year, OnTheMarket Software signed an agreement with Arun Estates, which trades as Douglas Allen, Cubitt & West, Pittis and Wards.

Under the spotlight

OTM’s performance was under the spotlight recently after the Federation of Independent Agents (FIA) revealed just 18% of agents it canvassed had seen an increase in leads from the portal since it was bought by CoStar.

But earlier this week, OTM hit back by announcing a big leap in the number of agents uploading properties to its website.

Over the last 10 months, the number of listing estate agents grew by 27% and total stock on the site increased by 45%.