The UK property portal is in a strong position and is under little pressure to sell at anything other than a silly figure
Rightmove, as has been recognised for a couple of decades, boasts beautiful financial ratios. The company embodies the “winner takes all” rewards that can come with being the clear market leader in a field where the end-punters – in this case the UK’s property-seeking classes – are happy to trawl a single website rather than many. Market share has been stable-ish at about 85%; likewise profit margins of 70%. Estate agents, though they grumble about paying Rightmove’s princely fees to advertise, generally cough up because the cost of not doing so can be higher.
Thus it is slightly odd that the company’s share price, before Monday’s 27% rise as REA Group, an Australian property listings company controlled Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, expressed interest in making a bid, had gone roughly sideways for the past five years.
Continue reading...
0 Comments