Purplebricks losses widen in first half

Hybrid estate agent Purplebricks downgraded its revenue guidance for the year on Thursday amid "challenging" market conditions, as it posted a widening of first-half losses but a rise in revenue.

In the six months to the end of October, revenue pushed up 75% to £70.1m, but the operating loss widened to £25.6m from 11.4m in the same period a year ago.

Revenue in the UK was up 39% to £48.3m and the company said it completed on £5.4bn of UK property in the half, up from £4.6bn the year before.

Purplebricks said that notwithstanding the "challenging" macroeconomic backdrop and uncertainty caused by Brexit, it has continued to outperform its UK peers, winning market share from traditional operators.

Chief executive officer Michael Bruce said: "Our UK business continues to make good progress, with strong sales growth, market share gains and a step-up in both profitability and positive cashflow. It is this strength that will see Purplebricks emerge stronger from the ongoing industry shakeout, which is expected to continue to expose undercapitalised traditional and online competitors.

"Following Axel Springer's investment in March, we are already seeing how shared knowledge and best practice across the business can benefit the entire group."

Purplebricks narrowed its range for full-year revenue to between £165m and £175m from £165m to £185m, in line with market consensus. It said the adoption of IFRS 15 will result in an approximate 2% downward adjustment to its guidance, with a minimal impact on profit and no impact on cash.

At 1020 GMT, the shares were down 9.6% to 143.40p.