Purplebricks was ‘destined to fail’ in Australia

PHOTO: Purplebricks, according to Mr Rigby, failed to make the most of digital marketing, instead opting for expensive TV ads that came with a lot of “wastage”.

Online real estate agent Purplebricks was “destined to fail” in Australia and tried to “buy the market” with $20 million a year in expensive TV ads, according to a rival firm.

Adam Rigby, chief executive of fixed-fee start-up Upside Realty, has seized on news of the UK company quitting the local market to insist there is still consumer demand for the model.

The loss-making but rapidly growing Purplebricks arrived Down Under in August 2016 amid massive marketing and PR fanfare, promising to save Aussies an average of $11,500 under its model.

But after two-and-a-half years of “increasingly challenging conditions” and “execution errors”, the company on Tuesday night announced it was getting out of Australia, with founder and chief executive Michael Bruce falling on his sword.

“With hindsight, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid, and as a result, the quality of execution has suffered,” chairman Paul Pindar said, as he apologised to shareholders for disappointing performance over the last year.