Up to 90 Layoffs at Struggling Purplebricks

Purplebricks is set to lay off around 90 employees in a planned restructuring exercise, according to a source close to the company.

The source told Property Industry Eye that the layoffs represent 15% of Purplebricks' workforce—currently 580 employees at the hybrid challenger portal and real estate agency. The nature of the affected roles remains unclear.

It is understood that new owner Strike is concerned by Purplebricks since its £1 takeover of the portal last year, with Property Industry Eye saying "Strike has found the deal to be worse than expected", while ongoing macroeconomic conditions are limiting the potential upside of the relaunched Purplebricks.

A Purplebricks’ spokesperson said:

"Challenging the status quo is at the heart of Purplebricks.

"In the fifteen months since merging with Strike, the business has combined the strength of both brands, launched new products, and is currently the number one estate agency in the UK.

"As part of our transformation into a more agile, innovative business offering excellent customer service, we are currently in consultation with a number of colleagues as we continue to reshape the business. We recognise this is a difficult time for those impacted, and are providing support throughout this process and beyond."

Purplebricks also added:

In the last 12 months Purplebricks has listed and sold more homes than any agent in the UK, according to data from TwentyCi, an independent data provider. Purplebricks has also sold £75BN worth of property over the past 12 months.

Purplebricks lost $23.6 million in 2023 and was still saddled by debts of nearly $22 million for the period.

However, this didn't stop new owner Strike from slashing prices and rebranding to Purplebricks after the deal went through in April 2023. Purplebricks also took over Strike's financial services arm earlier this year, with 150 members of staff working under the newly formed Purplebricks Mortgages segment.