Purplebricks share price drops again as it ponders "different scenarios" for US

Purplebricks, which recently admitted that it had been over-ambitious in its overseas expansion, says it will give “a further update” on what is happening to its US operation on July 3.

Only two weeks ago today the firm revealed that company founder Michael Bruce would be leaving the company and that its Australian operation was shutting. “With hindsight, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid” the firm said at the time.

Now it has appointed Phil Felice as interim chief executive officer of its US business with a statement charging him with “a pivotal role in determining the group's options for delivering the next phase of growth in the US.”

Felice as Purplebricks’ US vice president of sales from 2017 until recently and was named executive vice president of Purplebricks US earlier this year. 

“He brings extensive experience in the US real estate industry most recently having spent two years as head of sales at Hubzu, a leading online marketplace for end-to-end real estate auctions, and previously as a vice president at Realogy and at Foxtons” says a statement regarding the new appointment.

Vic Darvey - who replaced Michael Bruce as Purplebrick’s chief executive officer earlier this month, says: "We are currently assessing a number of different scenarios around how we operate in the US but remain optimisitc about the opportunity for Purplebricks here. Phil will be fundamental in helping us develop a more sustainable business model, based on a tested and cost-efficient strategy."

Purplebricks says it will provide a further update on the progress of its US strategic review at its full year results on July 3.

On the London Stock Exchange Purplebricks shares fell again yesterday to 101p - that's a 70 per cent drop over the past year and leaving it one penny above the December 2015 float price.