OnTheMarket Appoints Former Agent Jason Tebb as New CEO

Six months after firing controversial CEO Ian Springett, UK challenger portal OnTheMarket has a new permanent CEO in the shape of former estate agent Jason Tebb. In a statement to shareholders this morning, Tebb outlined his credentials as a leader who understands the industry and agent pain points having 20 years of experience in the industry from working his way up in major agency groups (Foxtons, LSL and Chestertons) to starting his own agency (Ivy Gate).

“Having worked in the estate agency sector for the last two decades, I have first-hand experience of every size of business, from a single office independent to the largest of property PLCs. 

“I believe that this gives me a true understanding of the challenges agents face today, and I’m really looking forward to engaging with our client base to understand what their businesses need, both now and in the future, and how we can best support them going forwards.”

Tebb’s appointment has been greeted with mild surprise in some quarters as interim CEO and current CFO Clive Beattie, who had publicly put his name in the hat for the job, had been expected by some to be given the opportunity to carry on in the role. It seems as though OnTheMarket’s eagerness to show its commitment to agents and enhance its credentials as a portal which supports its agent customers may have won the day for Tebb as Non-Executve Chairman Christopher Bell hinted in this morning’s statement:

“We are delighted to welcome Jason [Tebb] to OnTheMarket.  Following a thorough evaluation of candidates, we believe Jason has the skills and sector experience to take the group forward and achieve our objective of building a strong, agent-backed, profitable and technology-enabled business.”

“Jason brings considerable experience in the property industry, particularly having previously run and grown a successful estate and letting agent, which will help drive our ambition to become the portal of choice for agents and consumers.”

It remains to be seen whether Tebb’s experience as an agent counts for much when trying to win over and convert branches to long term non-discounted contracts which will be his most important challenge.