Daily Mail

Shaky foundation­s at online agent Purplebric­ks

- by Holly Black

ANALYSTS at Jefferies were scanning the property market for opportunit­ies yesterday.

The broker thinks online estate agent Purplebric­ks is set to underperfo­rm, despite being backed by renowned investors such as fund manager Neil Woodford.

In a note Jefferies said: ‘Whether people buy or sell their homes through Purplebric­ks, we don’t recommend that they buy shares in the company’ though it said the business should be applauded for reinventin­g the franchise model.

Just three weeks ago Purplebric­ks said trading had been strong, with full year revenues expected to increase 445pc to £18.5m.

Shares slipped 6.3pc, or 10p, to 150p. Jefferies has a target price of 94p. It said: ‘This early stage disruptor has yet to prove the efficacy of its business model. Should it stumble, the share price may do likewise.’ But the analyst is positive on rival

Zoopla which it has upgraded to a buy. Zoopla, in which Daily Mail parent company DMGT owns a 31.3pc stake, yesterday gained 1.8pc, or 5.8p, to 326.3p. Jefferies said: ‘ The strategy is logical and commercial and it is working.’ Insurers were some of the biggest risers of the day as the FTSE 100 fell 0.6pc, or 40 points, to 6,230.79.

RSA Insurance Group rose 1.6pc, or 7.9p, to 490p as its chief executive, Stephen Hester, warned about the impact a Brexit could have on the business. Admiral followed, moving forward 1.1pc, or 21p, to 1968p and Direct Line ticked up 0.9pc, or 3.5p, to 375.3p in a positive end to the month for the industry.

Softcat is attracting positive reviews from brokers. The Marlowe-based IT firm provides computer services to the corporate and public sectors.

The group paid its maiden interim dividend earlier this year of 1.7p a share and reported that gross profits for the six months to January 31

had grown 15.1pc. The firm has regularly clawed its way into the daily top performers on the midmarket of late. Berenberg has a buy rating on the stock, which it points out has quadrupled its revenues since 2010. Softcat floated in November and its share price has purred up more than quarter since then. Shares closed 3.15pc, or 10.9p higher at 357.4p.

Petra Diamonds shined a little brighter after revealing some management changes. Finance director David Abery is to step down on June 30, though he is expected to continue to work with the firm to find a successor for at least six months. Jacque Breytenbac­h will take on the role of chief financial officer.

The 44-year-old chartered accountant has been finance manager at the firm since 2006. Koos Visser will become chief operating officer, having been group operations manager since 2005. Shares rose 0.22pc, or 0.25p, to 116p.

MX Oil climbed higher after revealing it had raised £3.4m from new investors in a share placing.

The oil and gas firm, which focuses on the Mexican energy sector, will use the money to ensure it has enough funding to keep its investment in an oil site offshore from Nigeria, which has started to produce oil. The group said that with the oil price starting to recover – yesterday it reached $49.90 a barrel – its stake in the Aje Field was becoming increasing­ly attractive.

It will also use the money to funds its other activities and to reduce debt. Shares gushed 9.4pc, or 0.08p, higher to 0.9p.

IG’s advertisin­g push appears to have paid off with it predicting its full year results to be ahead of City expectatio­ns. The online financial trading firm expects a boost to sales and trades to have offset the costs of its ad spending spree and said the ‘payback remains compelling’.

The fourth quarter was relatively quiet but it said it had offset any slowdown or extra costs by the ‘ ongoing strength in trading’. Shares rose 0.12pc or 1p to 798.5p.

Shares in Monitise slumped again yesterday – down 7.6pc or 0.24p at 2.91p – after the embattled tech firm dropped moves to sell its voucher website. Once feted as a breakout internet star, it has seen its share price crash by more than 95pc in the last two years.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom