OnTheMarket to boost investment in new products

OnTheMarket says it’s going to increase investment in new products and services, and invest further in ‘internal website development resources’.

In a trading statement to shareholders, the portal said it would “take advantage of the significant growth opportunities available, providing customers with increasing value across a broader suite of products and services and continuing to strengthen consumer engagement.”

New chief executive Jason Tebb told shareholders: “I am delighted that in a year of challenging circumstances, we are able to report that trading was ahead of our expectations from just a few months ago. Our results to 31 January 2021 build on the strong foundations we have in place upon which we intend to deliver our vision of a portal that provides value to customers and consumers at all stages of the property cycle.

"Our broad and deep agent ownership and support, our commitment to fair pricing and our focus on our agent customers at the heart of our business will continue to differentiate OnTheMarket. We will seek to further evolve our offering through on-going product innovation and increasing consumer engagement through targeted, data-led marketing and the provision of a suite of additional services which will benefit estate agents, housebuilders and consumers."

The portal says it enjoyed strong performance over Christmas and New Year and explains that by its year-end - which was January 31 - its revenues were £23m, up from £18.8m in the previous year. Its adjusted operating profit for the year was approximately £2.3m, an improvement of 2020’s £9.2m loss. Net cash was £10.7m.

The portal explains that the results reflect the measures taken during the earlier part of the pandemic through discounts and spending cuts, particularly in marketing.

The portal insists it’s seen “operational progress and strong consumer engagement” while a new valuation tool has improved leads. It says over 1.8m leads were generated in January, with an average of 146 per advertiser. Visits to the site in the month were 28m and weekly site visits have exceeded six million in recent weeks.