Spicerhaart eyes up Tesco’s online property business

Permalink: Spicerhaart eyes up Tesco’s online property business
by Kay Murchie

Last June, supermarket giant Tesco launched a service to compete against estate agents by allowing property owners to sell their home online for a flat fee of £199.

Nearly a year later, Tesco is in negotiations to sell the service, called Tesco Property Market (TPM), to Spicerhaart, the UK’s largest independently-owned estate agency network, with over 250 branches.

The flat fee of £199 caused arguments with rival estate agents who threatened legal action to stop properties they were marketing appearing on the site.

Estate agents were critical of Tesco’s property websites saying it undercut them and conflicted with their businesses, including Spicerhaart.

Speaking of the deal, Paul Smith, Spicerhaart’s chief executive, said final discussions are taking place with Tesco and we are developing a new innovative virtual estate agency business in partnership with Tesco, who will be the main distribution partner.

A spokesperson for Tesco said we have been reviewing our online estate agency for some now and looking at ways in which we might be able to bring more value and choice for to homemovers.

This has involved us talking to others in the industry and we are now in the final stages of negotiations to sell TPM to Spicerhaart, said the spokesperson.

Spicerhaart is one of London and the South East’s largest independent estate agencies.