ONLINE ESTATE AGENT RACKS UP ITS FIRST UK PROFIT

Purplebricks was set up in 2014 by brothers Michael and Kenny Bruce after they sold their Midlands estate agency

It charges customers a fixed fee of £849 to sell a home (or £1,199 in London) PURPLEBRICKS shares soared after it delivered its maiden UK profit.

The online estate agent, which was set up in 2014 by brothers Michael and Kenny Bruce and is backed by fund manager Neil Woodford, posted underlying profits of £300,000 in the UK for the six months to the end of October.

Total revenues, including its fledgling Australian business, jumped 159pc to £18.7m. The shares, which listed on AIM in December last year at 100p and peaked at 175p in May, yesterday jumped 18.8pc, or 19.75p, to 125p.

Purplebricks charges customers who sell their homes through its website a

The typical amount a seller pays at a traditional estate agents is £3,885 Once on the market, sellers can either show buyers round their home or use one of Purplebricks’ own experts The firm sold £2.6bn of homes in the past six months fixed fee of £849, or £1,199 in London. There are additional charges if the customer wants its agents to undertake viewings, and other extras such as energy performance certificates can also be added on.

But the company claims the average customer saves £6,267 in London and £3,035 elsewhere in the country if they choose Purplebricks ahead of High Street estate agents.

The UK profit compares with a loss of £6m in the same period of last year.

Chief executive Michael Bruce said the results reflected ‘the seismic shift that is under way in the estate agency market’.