HBOS sells holding in Rightmove

Permalink: HBOS sells holding in Rightmove
by Kay Murchie

HBOS, the bank which owns Halifax, has sold its 13% stake in Rightmove, the UK’s largest residential property website.

HBOS is the second-largest shareholder behind Connells estate agents, which has 16%.

The bank sold its shares at between 345p and 365p each, taking £59.2 million. It was one of the founding investors in Rightmove when it was launched in 2000, as a joint venture between four of the UK’s biggest property agents, Halifax, Countrywide, RSA and Connells.

Two years ago, Rightmove was listed on the stock market in 2006. It earns fees by charging estate agencies to list property sales details on its website.

Analysts say that HBOS was looking for a way out and indicates that it is far from optimistic about the state of the property sector.

A spokesperson for HBOS said the timing of the sale did not reflect the bank’s view of the property market.

The stake in Rightmove was a strategic investment. We have been selling our stake down over time, added the spokesperson.

HBOS recently revealed plans to raise £4 billion from a rights issue to shore up its balance sheet.

Last Friday, one of England’s largest chain of estate agents, Humberts, had it shares suspended on AIM pending clarification of its financial viability.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Humberts said the request to suspend its shares was made pending clarification of its financial position and added that it was investigating a potential restructuring.

Finally, Crest Nicholson, the commercial and residential developer owned by HBOS and Sir Tom Hunter, is making 10% of its workforce redundant, which represents about 80 staff.