Exclusive: OnTheMarket’s biggest critic will list with portal

A long-standing critic of OnTheMarket, who was once excluded from a presentation by the portal’s leadership, has spoken enthusiastically of the change created by the new chief executive.

Simon Shinerock, chairman of the 15-branch Choices agency group, spoke out stridently against the ‘one other portal’ rule imposed by OTM’s original chief executive, Ian Springett. 

He wrote strong opinion pieces here on Estate Agent Today about the new portal, criticising its tactic of targeting Zoopla rather than Rightmove, and Springett’s personal rule of banning online agencies from the portal.

Springett was ignominiously sacked by the OnTheMarket board in early spring 2020 and at the end of last year Jason Tebb, a former Foxtons agent, was appointed as permanent chief executive. 

Tebb’s collegiate approach of speaking with agents and renewing the portal’s technology and strategy, has been broadly welcomed by much of the industry, and the portal’s latest figures have suggested growing agent membership.

Now Shinerock says he, too, will be listing his company’s inventory on OnTheMarket.

In an opinion piece on EAT over the weekend he wrote: “I became one of the industry’s strongest critics of OTM. My reasons boiled down to an inherent dislike of the one other property portal rule, the decision to target Zoopla and the refusal to target the real issue which was and is Rightmove. 

“I will admit that things also got personal between me and Iain Springett the then CEO when I was invited and disinvited to a presentation in the early days for merely expressing mild skepticism about their strategy. 

“I’m not writing this piece as a belated ‘I told you so’ piece though, what has brought this on is more of a reconciliation and the start of a hopefully new and positive business relationship with OTM with whom we will finally be listing.”

Shinerock says his change of mind is very much down to Tebb’s approach, based on listening and promoting the portal ahead of himself. 

“OTM has dropped its arrogance, a trait which I believe was partly responsible for its failure to reach its potential but it’s keeping its agent led focus, something that marks it out as different from its larger competitors who seem to think the consumer is their customer, not the agents who pay their bills” wrote Shinerock at the weekend.

“More than any other portal right now OTM has estate agency running through its veins. This is both a good and a bad thing in my view but with a determination to learn from past mistakes, build on the strengths and manage the weaknesses, this estate agency focus could be a huge advantage. Above all I believe that OTM has the opportunity to put its real customers first” he concluded.

You can see the full Shinerock piece here.