Online agent Housesimple has published its latest accounts, showing it is over £19m in the red.
The accounts cover the year to the end of March 2019.
The business has posted total assets, less liabilities, at minus £19,217,363 for the period, up from minus £9,802,136 on the previous year.
The document lodged at Companies House also shows that in October this year the company raised £4.5m from existing shareholders.
The document says that the holders of the loan notes “have advised that they do not currently intend to recall those loans in the 12-month period following the date on which the financial statements are signed”.
It goes on: “The board have prepared forecasts for the period to 31 October 2020 which indicate that the company can continue to trade within its cash resources for the 12 months following the signing of these financial statements.
“Therefore the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue to trade for the foreseeable future.”
Housesimple is backed by Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone and by Toscafund.
In June this year, it announced that it would be selling all properties for free, and monetise itself through referral fees.
Its free service to vendors has been operating in northern postcodes and the midlands.
Comments (18)
Just a matter of time
One of peculiarities is that some of the really good agents capable of getting good fees left to enter the world of cheap fees. Brainwashed “Wolf of Wall Street” that cheap is good- many now cant get their heads round charging a decent fee again. Be interesting to see how this all plays out .
surrey1 has it – merry Christmas one and all
2020 is going to be an awful year for the onliners. Bring it on.
I think the British public is a lot more sophisticated than HouseSimple thought. They know they won’t get the best price for their home from a data collecting agency.
Where does this business model now go? Will they pay homeowners for the ability to market their home ?
Merry Xmas everyone
one less online only bod by next Christmas
The trouble with “online” agency is sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.
My biggest takeaway from this: If a former or current member of Dixon’s Carphone ever becomes a board member at my business, I’d best dust off my CV! House Simple and Countrywide, ruined by ex-Carphone execs management decisions…….. Who knew selling houses was different to selling super fast 4g contracts? Blows my mind
Meanwhile on LinkedIn an Area Director is celebrating their first year anniversary and being lauded by colleagues looking forward to next year??
Still no idea on how this model works and how they expect to turn £19m in the red around.
Anymore investors willing to burn some dough? I will turn it not burn it.
They’re all over it bigging each other up, however given some were redundancies from Hatched a brave face is probably better than thinking about once bitten …………………..
Shocked that if you don’t charge for a service you don’t make money!
Who would have thought it, working for free is not profitable!
With cumulative losses in excess of £39 million and an eye watering cash burn rate, that £4.5million raised from shareholders in October is not going to last very long – the begging bowl will be out again before Easter.
Merry Christmas?
Imagine opening that Gift Box on Christmas Morning and finding a Black Hole spinning in the box, projecting a bat like beam onto your ceiling with the figures -£19,000,000.
That would wake you up!
Sell houses for free using investors money to stay afloat and now millions in debt… never saw that coming now did we. How much longer can the directors milk it?
HANG ON A MINUTE!!!
You mean… tell people you will “sell” their property for nothing… and you lose money?
Well.
I.
Never.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, when are these investors going to wise up? Honestly, these people must have money to burn…..
‘the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue to trade for the foreseeable future.
How long is the ‘foreseeable future’?
Not long, would be my guess.