Purplebricks wins investor support for chairman

STRUGGLING online estate agency Purplebricks has secured the support of its largest shareholder as it attempts to face down a brewing investor revolt.

Shareholders are to vote on whether to oust Paul Pindar, Purplebricks’ chairman, at a meeting on Dec 19.

It has been called by Lecram Holdings, an investment vehicle that has built a 5pc stake in the company.

Adam Smith, the investor behind Lecram, has accused Mr Pindar of overseeing a “disastrous” destruction of value as a result of “a series of poor business decisions”. He wants Mr Pindar to be replaced by Harry Hill, the founder of Rightmove and former chief executive of Countrywide.

Purplebricks yesterday urged investors to vote against Lecram’s resolutions. It said it had secured the support of Axel Springer, the German publishing group that owns just over a quarter of the company’s shares.

Purplebricks said: “The company already has a clear plan to improve business performance, return to positive cash flow and profitability and build a scalable business model.”