Shares in Countrywide have dropped through the symbolic 100p mark.
They did so at about noon today – and have continued to drop. At 12.40p, the price was 99.4p.
It makes a precipitous fall in the value of the business, which closed trading on Wednesday last week at just over 135p.
Countrywide made a dramatic — and unscheduled — trading update the following day in which it warned that it is expecting group EBITDA for 2017 to be 22% down on the previous year.
It said total group income is expected to be £672m, down 8.8% on 2016’s total of £737m.
Total income in the sales and lettings business for the full year is expected to be circa £360m, down 14% on 2016, which Countrywide said reflected a disappointing fourth quarter performance.
Countrywide’s share price ended last week at 106.8p when the markets closed on Friday. The shares continued on a downward spiral yesterday, ending at 103p
Comments (30)
No one should be anything other than relieved that, albeit circa two years too late, sense has eventually prevailed! This ‘ceo’ peered down from her ‘ivory tower’ and with breathtaking arrogance implemented, using her ‘clueless and sycophantic cronies’ measures that no thinking CEO would. Those that had created, augmented and maintained success were considered of no value because guess what? she and her cronies thought this ‘agency game’ is a piece of #%**’. Well Al; you now know that it isn’t and your tenure has been an abject failure. Good riddance.
She is halfway thru the door .Suspect the collection of makeweights on the main board who hold a clutch of corporate directorships have been conducting a beauty parade for the job since October
So why issue a negative profits/trading statement now 6 weeks before they needed too? Hopefully someone with a much better business acumen than me may know the answer?
It’s been a slow decline over the past 5 years when it around £6 a share. Buy at £0.50p.
If you build your house with straw the big bad wolf will surely blow it down!
Curious.
Did Jeffries recent recommendations on CW shares forecast this dramatic fall?
No, today’s drop was due to my starting a rumour this morning that the Board should approach me as her replacement!!
Once the rumour has been quashed, will the share price go back up!
March 2013 Market Cap: £750 million
Sept 2014 : Alison Platt appointed
January 2018 Market Cap: £236 million
February 2018: Alison Platt resigns citing, “She wants to spend more time with her money”……
I’m not sure this was the low price proposition they had in mind when deciding to give their product away for £995 a pop.
Poundland!
It shocks me how the share holders have not removed Ms Platt from her role months even years ago. Yes there has been issues that are uncontrollable but she has let a thriving business become a mockery to not only shareholders but staff and the rest of the Agency world.
I know many of staff feel very undervalued with all the cost cutting she has imposed. Staff being overworked and under paid it will soon come to those staff members leaving yet on the countrywide home page she says it’s all about the staff.
Countrywide shareholders need to take a long hard look at themselves for appointing someone who has no idea about agency. Agency has not changed in the many year I have worked in it. It has always been a people business and the principles have not changed. Employ the right people from both office staff right the way through to the directors and then you will see a business grow. Employ the wrong people and you will see a business fail.
Countrywide is a true example of this.
misery typo
If CWD was an animal it would have been put out of its misary long long ago……
A squid comes to mind.
They can change colour, spineless and the expression “damp squid” comes to mind.
Peter,
I think you mean “damp squib”… though the metaphor still works!
Damn! too late to edit; where were you half an hour ago.
Buy when they hit 50p
That will take a while. The share price will stop falling when Platt goes haha.
Bargain….but get in well before Wardy and AgentV’s eleven point turnaround action plan comes into effect….three years to quadruple your money!
AgentV – Calm down. We don’t need spam.
What about a little lightheartedness joking 😉
But actually….I am sure I could turn it around, along with many other posters on PIE who have experience at the coal face. One thing is for sure we could do a damn site better job than has been done over the last few years. I am sure you could as well.
But no-one will ever give us the opportunity, because we haven’t been in charge of a big company elsewhere first….even if it was failing.
So if purplebricks are being valued at £1billionn they are obviously not being valued as an ‘estate agent’ comapring to other estate agents.
i wonder what they are being comapred to …amazon they are not. PAYANYWAY scum they are.
Bless You
I think you need to sit a bit less on the fence with your opinion!
Can I have a blessing please 😉
A blessing for our eleven point action plan 😉
I bless the silent everyday agentv… the lord sees you trying to defend our industry but you are being held back by the roar of hedgefund money sweeping into on the market and purplebricks bank accounts .
Bless you all traditional agents..the lord sees your work and stress levels.
At that kind of money, zoopla could buy them and start going direct to the customer now it has tied all these agents up long term!
Unbelieveable!!!
They need Wardy and AgentV’s eleven point plan to turn everything around….including the share price….as soon as possible. Somebody get on the phone to Ros and get her to contact us asap!!!
Joking aside, The rot was well and truly setting in long before anyone had ever heard of Alison Platt. Even the negs could see it and I’m talking 10-15 years ago when Bairstow Eves was becoming a dirty word and only used to flog franchises.
Those of us that were good at selling houses moved on an did it where we was allowed to crack on and do just that. Being dragged over the coals for getting 10 bums on FS seats instead of 12, Pulling your hair out when the solicitor you was forced recommend would scuttle your sale before it even started and watching middle management swan about in a slightly better Vauxhall’s than you who really did naff all for a living.
I miss those days……