Michael Bruce is not the only recent departure from Purplebricks.

Long-standing member of staff Joby Russell has left  after four and a half years.

Russell joined Purplebricks in 2014 as a non-executive director while still at comparison website Confused.com and then moved over full time to become chief marketing officer Purplebricks in 2015.

He worked closely with co-founders, brothers Michael and Kenny Bruce, and was thought of so highly that he relocated to Australia to become part of the management team when the business launched there in 2016.

More recently, Russell has been involved in various projects at Purplebricks, particularly those with an overseas development focus. He has now left to start his own business.

Financially he appeared to do well out of the business, selling almost 250,000 shares in July 2016, with one report suggesting that in the ten days he owned them, the sale generated a profit of over £300,000.

Also departed is Richard Jacques, national director of lettings at Purplebricks. A spokesperson said he had decided it was time to move on after five years with the company.

Jacques also seems to have done well out of shares, selling 60,000 in July 2017, according to a Sunday Times report (see below).

A Purplebricks spokesperson said last night: “Both Joby and Richard have played a really important role in the company’s development and leave on extremely good terms: neither case is connected with the news this week – both just feel that, after several years with Purplebricks, they want to explore new opportunities.”

Verona Frankish, Purplebricks national mortgage director, is now also heading up the conveyancing and lettings businesses.

She joined Purplebricks in March this year from the Mortgage Advice Bureau.

Purplebricks in share sale puzzle, says Sunday Times headline