Purplebricks shares drop after founder Michael Bruce steps down
Shares in online estate agent Purplebricks fell as much as eight per cent in early trading after it revealed founder and chief executive Michael Bruce is stepping down.
Purplebricks said Bruce has resigned with immediate effect and will be replaced by chief operating officer Vic Darvey.
Read more: Shares in Purplebricks plummet as UK and US bosses head for the exit
The hybrid estate agency also said it is withdrawing from the Australian market due to challenging conditions and “execution errors”.
Non-executive chairman Paul Pindar issued an apology to shareholders, saying the firm was conscious its performance had been disappointing.
“With hindsight, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid and as a result the quality of execution has suffered,” he said.
“We have also made sub-optimal decisions in allocating capital. We will learn from these errors and will not make them again.”
It comes amid a tough period for the AIM-listed firm, which has posted widening losses after rolling out an expansion plan in the US and Australia.
In addition to withdrawing from Australia, the company said it will scale back its US business in a bid to reduce expenditure.
Despite this, Purplebricks’s Canadian business has continued to perform well, and the firm said it remained confident about trading in the UK.
Read more: Purplebricks cuts forecasts despite leap in revenue
“Going forward, we have a very clear understanding of the levers available to us to achieve growth,” said chief executive Vic Darvey.
Purplebricks reaffirmed its revenue guidance of between £130m and £140m, which was previously slashed from its original range of £165m to £175m.