Connells sells stake in Rightmove

Estate agency, Connells, is selling its 17% stake in Rightmove.

The decision by the UK’s second-largest residential property agent is a further ill wind for the housing market, particularly as Connells’ 21 million shares in the website are being offered at a discount on the market price.

Connells was instrumental in setting up Rightmove eight years ago but will remain purely as a customer as both companies continue to struggle in the property market downturn.

Last week, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that in England and Wales, estate agents sold an average 10.6 houses per branch in the three months to the end of November, the lowest average since records began in 1978.

The figure compares with 10.9 in the three months to the end of October and 11.5 over the three months to the end of September.

Last month, Rightmove reduced its workforce by one-fifth and announced that membership had fallen by an annual 15% at the end of October.

According to the firm, which says it advertises 90% of properties for sale in the UK, 75% of agents who quit had either gone out of business or had been removed for non-payment.

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