The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
FINAL CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR URBANITY-25 JOIN MORE THAN 550 ALREADY ATTENDING
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR URBANITY 550+ ALREADY ATTENDING
REGISTER NOWDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
42
print
Print
OfficeDinah Lewis BoucherWed 08 May 19

Purplebricks Exits Australia After 2.5 Years

37515fc8-3597-45e0-8608-44a9bf633636

After two-and-a-half years, low-fee real estate agency Purplebricks are exiting Australia citing “challenging market conditions” and “execution errors” in its rapid business expansion.

The online real estate agency launched into the Australian market as a “disruptor” to the traditional real estate model in late 2016, but have since lost millions while operating on Australian shores.

Amid Australia's housing slowdown, the UK-based group upped its capped commission rate to $8800 in October last year.

But in its latest update, Purplebricks finally called time, saying that “prospective returns from Australia” were “not sufficient to justify continued investment”.

“During the two and a half years that Purplebricks has been operating in Australia, market conditions have become increasingly challenging.”

“This, combined with some execution errors, has resulted in the business not delivering the progress the Board expected.”

“The business (in Australia) has been put into an orderly run down with immediate effect, pending closure. The business remains committed to our current customers.”

Related: McGrath Earnings Tumble, Further Losses Expected

In the wake of losses last year, chief exec and founder Michael Bruce will immediately step down.


The group, which was founded in the UK and has operations in Canada and the US, also announced its founder and chief executive Michael Bruce would step down.

Bruce, who started the company in 2012, will be replaced by chief operating officer Vic Darvey.

“Importantly, we are very conscious that the group's performance has been disappointing over the last 12 months and we sincerely apologise to shareholders for that,” Purplebricks chairman Paul Pindar said.

“With hindsight, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid and as a result the quality of execution has suffered.

“We have also made sub-optimal decisions in allocating capital. We will learn from these errors and will not make them again.”

The London-listed group will post its results on 3 July for the year ended 30 April 2019.

ResidentialAustraliaReal EstateSector
AUTHOR
Dinah Lewis Boucher
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Warren and Mahoney Western Bulldogs Women's Health and Leadership Hub HERO
Exclusive

Beyond the Boys’ Club: Inclusive Architecture Disrupting Sporting Precincts

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Exclusive

Inside the $10m Heritage Refit of Sydney’s $25,000-a-Year Members’ Club

Taryn Paris
4 Min
Kurraba Point 93 Kurraba Road TUD PLUS
Residential

Council Over Court: How HFO Won Rare North Sydney Approval

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Exclusive

Why Sentinel is Betting Big on Olympic City Office Sector

Phil Bartsch
5 Min
The Port of Brisbane has released its Vision 2060 which details the need for inland rail connectivity
Infrastructure

Brisbane Port’s $15bn Future Faces One Big Obstacle

Renee McKeown
5 Min
View All >
An aerial view of Ipswich, whose suburb Springfield Lakes, had the highest number of house sales for Queensland in Q2, 2025.
Residential

Ipswich Suburb Leads Queensland House Sales

Marisa Wikramanayake
Warren and Mahoney Western Bulldogs Women's Health and Leadership Hub HERO
Exclusive

Beyond the Boys’ Club: Inclusive Architecture Disrupting Sporting Precincts

Leon Della Bosca
Goldfields Kyneton Central Edgecombe Road precinct rendering
Development

Goldfields Forges Ahead on $150m Kyneton Central Hub

Leon Della Bosca
Bunnings, McDonald’s to anchor $70m first stage at Kyneton Central, with the developer weeks from announcing major tenan…
LATEST
An aerial view of Ipswich, whose suburb Springfield Lakes, had the highest number of house sales for Queensland in Q2, 2025.
Residential

Ipswich Suburb Leads Queensland House Sales

Marisa Wikramanayake
5 Min
Warren and Mahoney Western Bulldogs Women's Health and Leadership Hub HERO
Exclusive

Beyond the Boys’ Club: Inclusive Architecture Disrupting Sporting Precincts

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Goldfields Kyneton Central Edgecombe Road precinct rendering
Development

Goldfields Forges Ahead on $150m Kyneton Central Hub

Leon Della Bosca
3 Min
Development

Zen Group’s West End Towers Greenlit

Taryn Paris
2 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/purple-bricks-exits-australia-after-25-years