Online estate agent probed

ONLINE estate agent Purplebricks has hit back at claims which caused shares to plunge.

A BBC documentary alleged the firm embellished sales figures and used a claim banned by the Advertising Standards Agency in its marketing. Concerns were also raised over the way Purplebricks allows customers to defer payments.

Its shares dropped around 8pc as a result on Wednesday.

However the firm said it is ‘confident’ that the nature of its deferred payment facility is ‘clear and transparent’.

Founder and chief executive Michael Bruce added: ‘We seek to satisfy and surpass our regulatory obligations at all times.’