The battle between ZPG and OnTheMarket to poach agents off each other kicked off again yesterday when the Zoopla parent company said it had lured 100 new agents back to its purple portal, and signed existing client Chancellors to a new five-year deal.

Competition between the two is now fiercer than ever after OnTheMarket (OTM) dropped its ‘one other portal’ rule following its recent AIM flotation, while ZPG is keen to counter OTM’s recent push to sign up small and medium-size agents, which so far has seen several hundred new agents sign up.

The larger of the 100 agents on ZPG’s list includes some recent, as well as less recent, returnees including Curchods, Douglas & Gordon and Jones Lang LaSalle in London, Henry Adams in Surrey and Sussex, Morris Marshall & Poole in Wales and Whitakers in Hull.

These companies between them have nearly 80 branches plus ZPG says the rest of the returnees are one, two and three branch agents, taking the total number of additional branches now listing with ZPG to 200 or more.

ZPG also says the Chancellors Group, which as well as its own branches in London and the Home Counties plus Anscombe & Ringland in London and Russell Baldwin & Bright in Herefordshire and Wales, has signed up to a new deal.

Chancellors, which has 53 branches, has now committed to a five-year deal after its condition that OTM floats on AIM was met, and also committed to “actively promote the OnTheMarket.com portal brand with digital and branch-based marketing activity”.

The company is one of the growing number that now list on all three portals.

“We are delighted to welcome back and further cement our relationships with all these agents from around the country who understand the advantages we deliver to their business,” says Mark Goddard, Managing Director of ZPG Property Services (pictured).

“Our proposition continues to go from strength to strength and with the best value portals, most advanced software and widest range of tools we continue to help agents gain exposure and generate additional revenue.”

OTM reaction

A spokesperson for OnTheMarket.com said: “In the first two weeks of trading on AIM, we welcomed Arun Estates and Chancellors Group of Estate Agents which between them operate more than 150 branches.

“In addition, we had signed up 243 new listing agreements with agents within the first two weeks after our Admission to AIM and agent support is continuing to grow.”