Rightmove has appointed a new chief executive from outside the company in a bid to expand the UK’s largest property website and reverse a share price slide that has accelerated through the year.
Johan Svanström will take over as Rightmove boss in March next year, after the FTSE 100 group’s full-year results. He will replace Peter Brooks-Johnson, who stepped down after a 16-year spell at the company.
Svanström will join the group from Stockholm-based private equity firm EQT, where he is currently a partner in the growth advisory team.
Andrew Fisher, Rightmove’s chair, said Svanström would bring a “proven ability to scale established companies along with his digital acumen and experience of marketplaces”.
Rightmove dominates the market for online property listings, with a larger market share than competitors Zoopla and OnTheMarket.
The high-margin business booked an operating profit of £121mn on revenues of £163mn in the first six months of this year, earning the bulk of its income in fees from estate agents, which advertise on the platform.
But the company’s share price has declined sharply in recent months.
Shares fell more than 10 per cent following the unexpected announcement of Brooks-Johnson’s departure in May, while a fast-cooling housing market has been the main factor in further drops of more than 20 per cent in the past four weeks.
This year Rightmove’s shares have lost more than two-fifths of their value. They fell 1 per cent to 467.60p on Friday morning.
There is already evidence that a slowdown in the housing market — brought about by a steep increase in mortgage rates and economic uncertainty — is hitting property portals such as Rightmove.
The company’s main rival Zoopla is undertaking a round of redundancies, according to Property Industry Eye, a trade publication.
Zoopla boss Charlie Bryant told the publication that the decision, which could result in almost a tenth of the company’s staff being made redundant, was an effort to help the company “weather the challenges ahead” from a tough macroeconomic environment.
Svanström said he would look to expand the business: “Rightmove has a long runway of opportunities to innovate, digitise and create ever more value for users, customers and the wider ecosystem.”
Following the announcement, Jessica Pok, an analyst at Peel Hunt, upgraded Rightmove to a buy rating and said she expected the company to be resilient despite “challenges ahead in the housing market”.