Purplebricks to reveal trading figures and lettings future

Purplebricks is to reveal its latest trading figures next week in a crucial test for the turnaround strategy of new chief executive Helen Marston.

The figures - on Thursday December 8 - are for the six months to the end of October, coinciding almost exactly with Marston’s time in office as chief executive.

And the December 8 date is only about 10 days before the agency has an emergency general meeting at which the major discussion will be around a motion to sack company chairman Paul Pindar, and install a replacement in the shape of industry veteran Harry Hill.

Likely to emerge from the December 8 trading statement is news on the future of the company’s lettings division.

In March Purplebricks announced that its lettings division would follow the sales side and no longer have self-employed local agents in the field - instead they will all be employed staff - but then just five weeks ago Marston sent a note to all staff across the company triggering the start of a redundancy process to create “a leaner, more efficient organisation, well equipped to succeed.”

Some analysts speculate that the lettings division - already just a minor part of the Purplebricks operation - could be shut, although the agency denies this is on the table.

The trading figures released in a week’s time may also reveal whether there is an ongoing cost to the company for its compliance failure a year ago, when the agency was found to have failed to properly serve legally-required documents to tenants explaining their deposits had been put into a recognised protection scheme.

That in turn has led to the appointment, three months ago, of Helen Martin who left LSL Property Services to become Purplebricks’ director of risk and compliance.

As well as releasing trading figures to shareholder and the public on December 8, Marston and her new chief financial officer Dominique Highfield will face investors in a live Q&A at 8.30am the same day.