It has already announced that a tier of management, the regional directors, is to go, but says it is hoping that most of those will be deployed elsewhere in the company.
The firm now says it has been having face-to-face meetings with all of its Territory Owners with the aim of streamlining this tier of management.
It is understood that, as with the regional directors, the aim is to deploy many of those who will no longer operate territories elsewhere in Purplebricks.
However, it is known that some Territory Owners have already chosen to leave.
We understand that the re-structure is likely to reduce the number of Territory Owners, currently 108, down to about 40.
The re-structure is due to complete today with staff being updated by CEO Vic Darvey at a meeting tomorrow morning.
Comments (26)
Wow!
So they’re sacking off a whole tier of management and two thirds of their front line staff. Those that remain will then have to cover two, three or even fours times the area that they can’t currently service properly now anyway. Yet STILL some people/shareholders can’t see that this emperor is naked! There’s only going to be one man and his dog left there soon.
It can only now be a matter of time before the plug gets pulled and the market wakes up to realise that the Purplebricks ship is sinking fast.
If I was still on it I’d be heading for life rafts as quick as I could, so that I didn’t go down with it.
Despite all the shenanigans and smoke and mirrors, they’re just not very good, if you want to buy a house or sell a house through an app it doesn’t work that way and probably never will, if you are not in the industry and you are reading this site (including journalists ) understand that agents on no sale no fee are totally on it as we eat what we kill and our interests are completely aligned with those of our clients ( vendors ) and to a lesser extent our buyers who we need to achieve alignment but receive the benefit of knowledge, problem solving and navigation of this often complex process, gratis, especially when lawyers are unknown to each other and unnecessarily combative, defensive or pedantic. They get that for free in the hope that they will be future ( paying ) vendors, and the world continues to turn. Alexa, when am I moving? Please lol.
Is it possible that Axel Springer the majority shareholder of PB has loaded the company with inept senior management in order to drive down the share price, buy the remaining shares at low cost, take full control and then privatise?
They’re not that smart… In fact, this thing will continue to implode until it pops.
Not the worst theory Puddleofsh!t although I suspect much less engineered and more a by-product bonus for Axel.
Purplecracks are appearing ……we’re only see the tip of the iceberg. Imagine what we can’t see!
Super TOs!
The well is indeed running dry!
More cost cutting measures.
This looks like a small business growing up and maturing, the quality of individuals needed in a small business compared to a medium is vastly different.
All the noise about running out of money is just silly talk and jealousy. How much money do you all have?
I think PB are about to go again………………….. watch this space.
I agree with you .
Sadly .
They are not going to run out of money but the Bruces leaving has exposed a management vacuum below Little to show that any positive changes are happening aprtfrom somegood marketing campaigns Time for some grown ups to be involved
I don’t believe they have run out of money but they cannot raise money as easily as they have. Also they need to see continue raise in turnover and profit so cutting costs to help this.
your Unbelievable Jeff ??-read the above post by tato. If half of this post is correct its a dead duck.
I left as a TO of my own accord. For anyone who may be forced out please don’t look at it as a negative.
i didn’t realise until after I left how much Purplebricks negatively effected my mental health.
Depression, anxiety, social isolation, relationship breakdown, debt and loneliness. That’s what I was left with after years of loyal service to Purplebricks – oh, and a very concerned GP who insisted on signing me off work immediately with stress when I told her about their expectations of me and my working conditions as a TO with no support working over 30 postcodes (most of which I’d never heard of let alone visited before) all by myself. Not that I needed signing off – at the time I still saw myself as self employed which is absolute nonsense but that’s another topic entirely!
I never returned after that day. Something changed inside of me and I had realised how stupid I had been. All I am left with now is genuine sadness for the home owners who had believed what I had believed in – Purplebricks. How could I have fallen for it – and how could I sit in someone’s home and make them believe in it too?
I genuinely hope this is the beginning of the end.
I hope that post receives the full consideration it deserves!
Absolutely terrible . It doesn’t get anymore damning than that Some of the other corporates take note as you seek to spin a profit and those at the coalface suffering the consequences ushered in with false promises
All the very best for you Tato
This is a brave admission.
i just wish you had the advertising budget to spread the word.
Yep, Tato I had the same experiences as you in Oz. Everything was the same, just we were dealing with Aussie properties.
The abusive and ruthless management style to line the founders’ pockets is now just a struggle to please the shareholders with the same useless methods of management.
It’s a train wreck in slow motion.
Nobody makes money, unless you are the guys at the top- its almost like a pyramid scheme…..The self employed LPE’s are virtually expendable…always somebody else looking to get rich quick. Well here’s a tip, after 35 yrs in estate agency- im still not rich / its getting tougher / overheads increasing / job satisfaction diminishing / paperwork exploding / legislation stifling. – so any more Purplebricks dreamers hoping to get rich out there – think long and hard about it, especially if you have a young family to fend for.
This is a very sad read. I hope you recover soon.
Hmmm, less staff and increased fees recently, can see where this is going…..AHH CONmisery!!
I have never known a new growth buiness to thrive with cutting costs.
Unfrtunatkey if PB goes another load of onliners will mrerly take thier place-or maybe its takeover time.
They would be stupid to now.
If bricks have done anything they’ve proved it costs £1.20 to make £1.
I e. The industry is dead anyway. Paying for instructions just doesn’t work.
LPE ?
L – Leaving
P – Parting
E – Excommunicated
LPE – NLR No Longer Required
Good Job Vic, keep slashing away, trying to keep your delicate head away from the guillotine
The pyramid is disappearing into the sand…….
Light blue touch paper…stand well back.
It will be interesting to see if any LPE’s speak out about this considering the split of territories into smaller geographical areas was pushed through by PB during their recruitment drives.
The income difference between TO positions and the lower rungs can be substantial to the point you might struggle to make a living.
The sooner people group together to expose the falsehood of them being self employed the better. The structure flaunts the law and the ethics of it are highly questionable.
One wonders if its linked to HMRC threats and its a risk minimisation plan as well as the obvious financial restructure to survive.
As much as I hate to see people lose their jobs, they are part of a bigger machine which denigrates our industry, lies on an industrial scale through constant and deliberately inaccurate marketing, overpromises and underdelivers and propogates the worst stereotypes of estate agency. Nice to see our ‘local expert’ will now be covering 4 counties instead of just the 2…!