US and Australia woes spark Purplebricks slide

Online estate agent Purplebricks was on the wrong end of a drastic sell-off on Thursday as it ran into trouble in the US and Australia.

The firm, whose leading investors include Neil Woodford, has ousted its US chief while its UK boss has resigned for “personal reasons” in a management overhaul.

Purplebricks reported a “slower than expected” response to its US recent marketing drive, while the Australian market has experienced “headwinds”. Founder Michael Bruce is taking charge of the US arm with immediate effect.

Shares were battered as it cut £35 million off its expected revenues for this year. That sent shareholders running as the stock lost 38%, or 62.6p, to 102p, barely above the float price in 2015.

Peel Hunt’s Gavin Jago said: “Given tough trading backdrop in key regions... revenue visibility is low and the near term growth outlook has weakened.”