Purplebricks sale to rival for £1 puts 750 jobs under threat
The Guardian|May 18, 2023
Purplebricks, the online estate agent that reached a peak valuation of more than £1.3bn, has been sold to Charles Dunstone-backed rival Strike for £1, with all of its more than 750 staff put at risk of redundancy.
Mark Sweney
Purplebricks sale to rival for £1 puts 750 jobs under threat

The company, which had threatened to shake up the property market with its low-cost model, put itself up for sale in February after issuing a string of profit warnings that resulted in its market value plunging to just £30m.

Shares in Purplebricks plunged more than 40% yesterday, giving the company a market capitalisation of just over £2m, as the fire sale all but wiped out shareholders.

As part of the deal, Strike intends a cost-cutting drive that includes "reducing the employee base". "Strike has indicated it would like to initiate a redundancy consultation process that would likely involve all of the company's employees as soon as practicable and possibly prior to completion [of the deal]," Purplebricks said.

This story is from the May 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the May 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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