Purplebricks quits Australia after low commission model fails

Purplebricks quits Australia after low commission model fails
Staff reporterDecember 7, 2020

Purplebricks Australia has announced its intention to exit the Australian market.

The decision comes amid the continued advertising campaign for listings by the celebrity builder, Barry Du Bois (below).

Even its revised fixed-fee sales model proved to be problematic for real estate agents, amid the slow down in the housing market.

Vic Darvey, the Purplebricks Group CEO said after much consideration it had "made the difficult decision to close the Australian business."

"We’ve been operating here for two and half years and, unfortunately, we have been unable to make the progress in the Australian market that we’ve wanted, despite the tireless efforts of our employees.

"Our present intention is that, over the next few months, we manage the process of closing down the Australian business in an orderly way, attempting to minimise disruption for both our people and our customers.

Purplebricks quits Australia after low commission model fails

"We will take no further listings in Australia, but intend to engage with our customers to finalise all existing agreements.

"This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but with market conditions becoming increasingly challenging, we do not believe that the prospective returns in Australia are enough to justify continued investment."  

Only last week UBS said the company was not likely to make money in Australia until 2022.

Last month it was forecasted that Purplebricks would potentially have to close its Australian operations to save the UK mothership.

Michael Bruce, the group's founder and chief executive officer is stepping down from the business with immediate effect.

In turn, the Board has appointed Vic Darvey, previously Purplebricks’ Chief Operating Officer, to the role of Chief Executive Officer and to the Board of Purplebricks.

Vic joined Purplebricks in January 2019.

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