Shares in OnTheMarket lifted off the floor yesterday after analysts at city bank Zeus Capital said that OTM has produced a number of key achievements in its first 11 months as a listed company.
It has increased its network of agency branches from 5,500 to over 12,000, a number which Zeus Capital expects will rise to nearly 12,500 by the end of its first year on AIM.
Zeus Capital said OTM has also increased its brand value, measured by its Google ranking and the quality of leads given to agents.
OTM has also started to turn fee-free agents into paying subscribers, converting 60 offices in December to full tariff contracts.
In an interview with DirectorsTalk, Zeus Capital’s research director Robin Savage says that over the next few years, his forecasts assume that two-thirds of the first-year free agents will convert and pay typically £350 a month.
Savage believes that OTM will report a cash balance at its year-end this month of £14m, and says the portal is well funded for the next 12 months or so. He believes OTM will report revenue in the year to January 31 to be in the order of £14.5m.
Savage says in the interview that by 2020/21, OTM should be able to deliver a respectable EBITDA margin of 30% on revenue of £67m. At that point the company could be valued at £300m, or about £3 per share.
Shares in OTM yesterday closed at 82.5p, 5% up on the day, and up from this week’s all-time low of 78p. However, the price remains well down from its hoped-for opening price on AIM last February 9 of 165p. It actually floated at 148p.
Zeus Capital was the sole broker to OTM at flotation.
https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/onthemarket-plc-qa-with-zeus-capital-lonotmp/412764348
Comments (9)
I don’t like what Rightmove are about and list with them reluctantly, OTM will be no better, given the chance and the way they’ve treated their earlier subscribers, just about sums them up. Personally, I have had much more success from Zoopla and feel that we do not need two Portals anyway, let alone three. Why don’t we all give Rightmove a ****** nose, forget OTM and give ZPG a go?
I wonder which part of my letter to Rightmove, they didn’t understand?
Good Morning (Rightmove),
With regard to your letter dated 10th January 2019 titled “Important information: your monthly costs will be changing”.
I read your letter this morning and was astonished to find that you mention in a “matter of fact” manner that you/Rightmove intend increasing my company’s monthly subscription by over 15%?!
It’s hard to find the words so I’ll just run with this one word “SCANDALOUS”!!!.
How on earth can you begin to justify an increase of that level? What value will you add to my business this year that in any way whatsoever can justify a 15% plus monthly increase? …..and what value have you added in each of the previous years that would justify your previous automatic increases!
Rightmove has systematically increased its prices annually whilst failing to justify these increases, particularly in terms of the added value which they are providing for their subscribers. I read with much interest your ongoing Shareholder Reports where you highlight in detail the increased revenue (ARPA) which you propose/forecast can be obtained from your subscribers.
In my view, and that of many other Rightmove subscribers, your “Automatic Annual Increase” strategy demonstrates a total disregard/contempt for your subscribers whom you seem to view as no more than a “dripping financial roast”.
I expect swift contact from Rightmove and a “one to one” meeting in my office to discuss this matter in detail. If you understand me as a long established/experienced/battle hardened estate agent you will understand that I am not simply going to take another “Annual Monthly Costs Letter”!
I await an appointment date/time.
Regards, GPL
HaHaHaHaHaHa HaHaHaHaaaaaaa
Rightmove response…… Update!
Rightmove’s disregard for their Estate Agency Subscribers is summed up nicely in the phone call I’ve just had…..
“We only have 1 on-the-road Account Manager in Scotland and he isn’t able to visit your location?!”
In essence it confirms what we already knew – Rightmove will keep shafting their Subscribers.
Yip, still being shafted and that Loan we gave OTM, which they forcibly converted to Shares at the IPO?…..
Ian Zippidy quoted circa £5 per share, then floated at circa £1.50, now almost half of that? ……..so, OTM certainly delivered success for us! Successfully lost us a substantial sum of money, in return for us loaning them money!
However, whilst talking about cr@p portal service…..
I have a Meeting with Rightmove re their Automatic Annual Increase Letter – still no meeting confirmed from Rightmove yet, several days elapsed since my email and they have still not found any volunteers to meet me yet? £10,000 a year expenditure clearly buys this Rightmove Subscriber nothing in the way of service!
Meanwhile….. Zoopla? They want to be my best friend ever.
It’s just shameful, that so many earlier members have been shafted by their one other portal con.
Getting happier and happier with OTM – producing more and more quality leads, certainly more than Z at the moment.
We also dropped RM without any affect on our business.
Very happy with OTM We Cancelled rightmove and Zoopla last year and are very happy, Stop talking about it
We’ve also noted an increase in QUALITY leads from OTM recently. Obviously down to the advertising. Zoopla too, although their advertising campaign is only just under way. Imagine if both of these portals produced more and better enquiries than RM – it could happen – then we could run down our latest 2 year contract with RM and leave them for good!
I have to say we have had some very good quality leads from OTM which have converted into good business.
I just think if 80% of agents were on OTM this could be the way forward for the time being.
Otherwise Rightmove will keep shafting the smaller agencies and possibly put them out of business.