The Motley Fool says investors should abandon Purplebricks

According to a popular investment blog, Analysts are starting to believe less and less in the story that Purplebricks is growing in strength. The blog says that the British estate agency may have to abandon its international expansion plans.

Purplebricks recently suffered the embarrassment of being written down by a huge 80 percent by the bank Berenberg; now The Motley Fool - a blog written by different analysts, all aimed at giving long-term advice to individual investors - says even this dramatic write down may be insufficient.

The Fool, as it is known, says that while star investment adviser Neil Woodford remains faithful to Purplebricks - his investment management firm remains a 28.88 percent owner of the agency - few other analysts remain hopeful.

And it says it’s easy to see why.

"In recent weeks, the company has warned that its growth may not be as strong as expected and at the end of February, management informed investors that revenue for the 2018/19 financial year would sit between £130 million and £140 million. Only three months previously, alongside its interim results in December 2018, the firm declared full-year revenues would be £165 million to £175 million,” says the blog.

It adds that such a significant change usually means either the management doesn’t  what it’s doing or the market is deteriorating further. 

"I think it is likely to be the latter" says Fool Analyst Rupert Hargreaves.

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