Rightmove shares rise as it takes even more money from agents

Property portal Rightmove has increased its key revenue target in a bullish set of results which shows it has not been beaten by the volatile housing market. 

Shares in the firm rose six per cent at one point yesterday following a trading statement which said the controversial Average Revenue Per Advertiser - a key metric -   was expected over the full year to be between £112 and £116, above the previous guidance of £103 to £105: the rise is ,driven largely by new home developers.

Both agent subscriptions and new homes development listings have remained stable, with its so-called share of consumer time also unchanged so far in its second half, at around 85 per cent.

It has kept its wider full-year outlook unchanged, saying it remains “at least” in line with previous guidance for revenue growth of eight to 10 per cent and underlying earnings growth of seven to eight per cent.

Rightmove chief executive Johan Svanstrom says: “The momentum that we reported in July has continued through the third quarter and beyond. The strength of our performance against an uncertain market backdrop demonstrates the strength of the UK consumer affinity to our platform, the value of the established network effect of our business model, the depth and richness of our consumer data, and the value that our customers place in our products to build their businesses. It also illustrates the resilience of our business model in all phases of the property market cycle.

“We continue to look to the future with confidence and remain focused on the delivery of our strategic plans, both in our core business and in strategic growth areas. We look forward to providing more detail at this afternoon’s investor day about our plans to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities ahead.”