NEWSFLASH: Rightmove and OpenRent fail to agree terms

NEWSFLASH: Rightmove and OpenRent fail to agree terms

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Rightmove has this morning confirmed that negotiations for online letting agent, OpenRent, to continue to list on the portal have terminated.

A statement to the markets said:

Rightmove plc, the UK’s number one property portal, updates that its contract with OpenRent will terminate with effect from 1 September 2024, as conditions for OpenRent’s ongoing Rightmove membership could not be agreed.

Rightmove reiterates its FY 2024 revenue and margin guidance. We continue to anticipate revenue growth of 7-9% and an underlying operating margin of 70%, when excluding the one-off acquisition costs and Coadjute investment. These are both in line with market expectations.

OpenRent is classified as an online lettings agent within Rightmove’s Estate Agency (Lettings) sub-segment and represents approximately 700 branch equivalents, with less than 8% of Rightmove’s lettings listings in July 2024. As has been seen recently, market dynamics – within lettings in particular – are fluid. While we remain confident of delivering revenue and margin in line with the guidance above, the precise mix of membership and ARPA may vary. Our current estimate is that membership will decline by up to 3% year-on-year, with a year-on-year increase in ARPA of £90-£100.

OpenRent’s landlord customers will therefore lose access to the UK’s largest property-seeking audience. Rightmove remains the place for consumers to find more UK properties than any other portal, and in H1 2024, delivered 8 times the number of properties rented than the next largest portal. Over 80% of all consumer time spent on property portals continues to be spent on Rightmove.

Resale listings on Rightmove are entirely unaffected by this change.




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