Purplebricks Group PLC Statement Re Share Price Movement & Trading Update (7179D)

TIDMPURP

RNS Number : 7179D

Purplebricks Group PLC

02 February 2018

2 February 2018

Purplebricks Group plc

Statement Re Share Price Movement & Trading Update

Purplebricks Group plc (AIM: PURP) ("Purplebricks" or "the Group"), the hybrid estate agent, notes its share price decline yesterday afternoon. Purplebricks knows of no reason for the share price fall other than the research note published by Jefferies International Ltd. ("Jefferies") after market close.

Purplebricks contests the findings of the Jefferies research report. Jefferies estimated Purplebricks' completion rate is based on a single month's data and does not include properties that have completed but have yet to be uploaded to the Land Registry, which can take several months. Equally the research does not take into account properties which have exchanged, have reached sold subject to contract (SSTC), or are on marketing breaks. Purplebricks reiterates its most recently published sales conversion rate from instruction to sale agreed of 78 per cent, which it believes more accurately reflects its sales performance, although this figure itself does not include those properties in the sales pipeline at the end of the period which will in due course sell.

Purplebricks firmly refutes the criticism in the research note of its revenue recognition policy and stands behind both the fully audited results and the accounting policy itself.

Trading Update

Purplebricks provides an update for the start of the important spring market:

-- 6,160 instructions in January 2018, up 66% year-on-year resulting in further overall market share growth

   --     Agreed sales in January 2018 alone on 4,618 UK properties 
   --     Online market share increased in January 2018 to 77% 
   --     Purplebricks has now sold and completed on over GBP10bn of UK property 
   --     Australia continues to build  and remains on-track 
   --     The US is proceeding to plan and work continues at pace towards launch in New York 

-- With a few key months remaining the Board of Purplebricks is pleased with progress and confirms trading is in line with the Board's expectations for the year ending 30 April 2018

Enquiries:

 
                                          +44 (0) 20 
 Purplebricks Group plc                    7457 2020 
 Michael Bruce, Group Chief Executive 
  Officer 
 James Davies, Chief Financial Officer 
 
                                          +44 (0) 20 
 Zeus Capital                              3829 5000 
 Ben Robertson, Nicholas How 
 
                                          +44 (0) 20 
 Peel Hunt                                 7418 8900 
 Dan Webster, George Sellar 
 
                                          +44 (0) 20 
 Investec                                  7597 5970 
 Keith Anderson, Carlton Nelson 
 
                                          +44 (0) 20 
 Instinctif Partners                       7457 2020 
 David Simonson, Mark Reed, George 
  Yeomans 
 

About Purplebricks

Purplebricks is the leading next generation estate agency in the UK with operations in Australia and the US that combines highly experienced and professional Local Property Experts (Local Real Estate Experts in the US) and an innovative use of technology to help make the process of selling, buying or letting so much more convenient, transparent and cost effective. Purplebricks is transforming the way people perceive estate agents and estate agency.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

MSCUGUBPPUPRUUP

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 02, 2018 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)