Exec behind Rightmove’s massive profitability will quit next year

Rightmove has announced that Robyn Perris is to step down as finance director next year after 12 years at the company.

During her period at the firm - first as financial controller and more recently as finance director - the portal’s revenue has grown five fold.

The exact date of her departure has yet to be agreed but it is expected to be between April and June next year; in the meantime she will continue to serve as FD and will be involved in the appointment of her successor.

“It’s been an enormous privilege to have been part of the Rightmove journey and its success for more than a decade. I am immensely proud to have worked in such an outstanding and innovative growth business and alongside so many talented Rightmovers” says Perriss.

“Rightmove is in a strong financial position with exciting opportunities ahead as it continues to innovate to make home moving easier” she continues.

In a statement to shareholders, the portal’s chief executive Peter Brooks Johnson says: “Robyn has been a huge asset to Rightmove ... Robyn has been an integral part of this journey, most notably through guiding our finance function as it has developed during a period of strong growth and ensured that our investors remained informed and fully engaged.”

In its most recent trading statement over the summer, Rightmove said the number of agency branches was 16,768 at the end of June, compared with 17,328 at the start of the year.However, the portal said the agency number decline was offset by new homes developers who started listing.

The all-important average revenue per advertiser - the key measurement for portals -  “grew more strongly than anticipated” said the agency, revealing that it was now £1,077 per listings branch, including new homes; ARPA per agency branch was £1,023 per month. Both were record highs for the portal.

Visitor growth continued with hits up 2.0 per cent over mid-2018 with an average of almost 141m visits per month.

• Meanwhile OnTheMarket has this morning announced it will list new homes marketed by Persimmon Plc. Under the agreement, which covers listing and additional advertising products, Persimmon will list all developments from its Persimmon and Charles Church consumer brands.