Outgoing REA Group CEO Denies Rightmove Failure Impacted Retirement Decision

Owen Wilson says his impending retirement was a personal decision—and last year's unsuccessful takeover bid for Rightmove had no impact on his plans.

In a briefing call with investors, Wilson addressed rumours that the Group's failure to acquire Rightmove shaped his decision to retire.

Capital Brief reported that Wilson told investors "I wouldn’t read anything into it [in relation to Rightmove]."

Wilson said:

"There’s a whole bunch of factors that have gone into the decision. One of the things I will say—if you know me, you know how I’m wired— if we weren’t firing, I wouldn’t have been able to make this decision. Rightmove has had no impact on that whatsoever. This is a personal decision."

As much as it would be fair to assume that the successful acquisition of Rightmove would have seen Wilson remain as Group CEO for the time being, it does seem fairly speculative that the opposite outcome convinced Wilson it was time to leave.

REA Group announced that Wilson, CEO for the past six years, would retire on the same day it released its financial results for the first half of the 2025 financial year, which saw exceptional year-over-year revenue growth of 20%.