Troubled online estate agent Purplebricks has agreed a deal to sell its business and assets for a nominal £1 to a rival backed by Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk founder Sir Charles Dunstone. The deal with online competitor Strike will effectively wipe out Purplebricks' shareholders, sending the stock down more than another 40% on Wednesday morning.
Strike will also take on Purplebricks' liabilities under the terms of the deal, but warned over jobs losses among the more than 750 employees at Purplebricks. While staff will transfer to Strike, it plans to launch a redundancy programme, which is expected to impact field agents and central support teams at Purplebricks, but did not provide a figure on how many roles are set to go.
Purplebricks chief executive Helena Marston is also set to resign after the sale completes, while the rest of the board also plan to step down. The proposed sale is expected to make a small return to shareholders and preserve the business and brand, Purplebricks said.
