Challenger portal and property platform Boomin informed staff that it was calling in liquidators yesterday.
As first reported by Sky News, the firm, setup by former Purplebricks boss Michael Bruce, told its 65 employees of plans to close after it struggled to raise additional funding.
Sky News reported that the UK housing market slowdown and the sudden dearth of funding for early-stage companies had combined to sound the death knell for Boomin.
Bruce said in a statement to Sky News: "While we had a plan, support from a number of existing shareholders and a solution with a new investor, the progressively worsening economic situation, combined with increasing uncertainty in the housing market, has resulted in us being unable to get the necessary funding round over the line in time to enable us to continue.”
A Boomin spokesman confirmed the news to Estate Agent Today and issued an apology to portal users last night.
Bruce also added that the closure of Boomin would have no impact on his support for industry charity Agents Together, which he setup last year.
He said Agents Together has been a “great success.”
Bruce remains a trustee of Agents Together.
Its chief executive Sarah Edmundson told Estate Agent Today: “Agents Together has done and will continue to do life-changing work across the industry, we have a clear strategic plan that is supported by our Trustees, Founders and 100s of wonderful industry people.”
She said Boomin’s closure is a “shame for everyone involved and the industry as a whole, the timing was just incredibly challenging.”
Edmundson said there will be no impact on funding or continued operation of Agents Together whatsoever.
Accountancy firm BK Plus has been appointed to deal with the Boomin insolvency.
The news prompted an outpouring of sympathy elsewhere on social media for staff who have lost jobs in the run up to Christmas.
Agency website provider Property Jungle tweeted: “Whatever your thoughts on this, we're thinking about their employees and how this will affect them, especially in the current economic climate and with Christmas just around the corner.”
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''Agents Together is a Great Success'' they say - well didn't they say that about Boomin?
we signed up very, very early o n and never received a single enquiry.
I hope the employees will manage to get themselves sorted out in quick order. I hope the BOOMIN Management is taking the lead on that.
Boomin, just wasn't Booming - they couldn't even spell. I told them they'd fail, just because of the name alone. The tacky name limited the agents that would join - even if they wouldn't admit it.
Great to hear that Agents Together and the amazing work is does is safe and will continue doing what it does so well- supporting agents up and down the country. Best of luck to all those affected by the closure of Boomin.
Really great!I'm so impressed to see that pompously your site is going to be considered to many on-line users as a great offer, by which they all may get well scopes to make something comfortable.
talvmedia
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