UK property website Rightmove targets growth in appointing new chief

Rightmove has appointed a brand new chief govt from outdoors the corporate in a bid to develop the UK’s largest property web site and reverse a share value slide that has accelerated by means of the 12 months.

Johan Svanström will take over as Rightmove boss in March subsequent 12 months, after the FTSE 100 group’s full-year outcomes. He’ll substitute Peter Brooks-Johnson, who stepped down after a 16-year spell on the firm.

Svanström will be a part of the group from Stockholm-based personal fairness agency EQT, the place he’s at the moment a associate within the development advisory workforce.

Andrew Fisher, Rightmove’s chair, mentioned Svanström would carry a “confirmed skill to scale established corporations alongside together with his digital acumen and expertise of marketplaces”.

Rightmove dominates the marketplace for on-line property listings, with a bigger market share than rivals Zoopla and OnTheMarket.

The high-margin enterprise booked an working revenue of £121mn on revenues of £163mn within the first six months of this 12 months, incomes the majority of its earnings in charges from property brokers, which promote on the platform.

However the firm’s share value has declined sharply in latest months.

Shares fell greater than 10 per cent following the surprising announcement of Brooks-Johnson’s departure in Could, whereas a fast-cooling housing market has been the primary consider additional drops of greater than 20 per cent prior to now 4 weeks.

This 12 months Rightmove’s shares have misplaced greater than two-fifths of their worth. They fell 1 per cent to 467.60p on Friday morning.

There may be already proof {that a} slowdown within the housing market — caused by a steep enhance in mortgage charges and financial uncertainty — is hitting property portals resembling Rightmove.

The corporate’s most important rival Zoopla is enterprise a spherical of redundancies, based on Property Trade Eye, a commerce publication.

Zoopla boss Charlie Bryant informed the publication that the choice, which may end in virtually a tenth of the corporate’s employees being made redundant, was an effort to assist the corporate “climate the challenges forward” from a troublesome macroeconomic surroundings.

Svanström mentioned he would look to develop the enterprise: “Rightmove has a protracted runway of alternatives to innovate, digitise and create ever extra worth for customers, prospects and the broader ecosystem.”

Following the announcement, Jessica Pok, an analyst at Peel Hunt, upgraded Rightmove to a purchase score and mentioned she anticipated the corporate to be resilient regardless of “challenges forward within the housing market”.