Purplebricks pummelled

PURPLEBRICKS lost a quarter of its value in another blow to fund manager Neil Woodford and his army of followers.

The online estate agent slashed its sales forecasts for the year and revealed that two senior executives have left, sending its shares down 24pc, or 39.6p, to 125p.

The rout was a bruising setback for Woodford, whose 29.2pc stake in the firm, held through Woodford Investment Management, fell by £38m.

Founders Michael and Kenneth Bruce also saw £18m wiped off the value of their Purplebricks shares. It has been on a rollercoaster ride since the stock listed at 100p in December 2015. The shares rose as high as 526p in July 2017 but have since tumbled 77pc. The latest sell-off came after Purplebricks said it expects revenues this year of between £130m and £140m. It was previously targeting £165m to £175m.

In another bombshell, Purplebricks said Lee Wainwright and Eric Eckardt – chief executives of its UK and US arms respectively – were both departing.

Company chief executive Michael Bruce admitted the group’s position was not ‘entirely as we would have wanted’.

Purplebricks blamed the lower sales forecasts on ‘challenging’ conditions in global property markets.

Bruce, however, said: ‘The UK is leading the way with continued profitable growth and a strategy to deliver greater success.’