Company Announcements

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

30 September 2024

 

Response to Rule 2.8 announcement from REA

 

The Board of Rightmove plc (" Rightmove " or the " Company ") notes the announcement from REA Group Ltd (" REA ") confirming that it does not intend to make a firm offer for Rightmove. As a result, REA is bound by the restrictions set out in Rule 2.8 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers .

 

Through this process, the Board concluded that REA's proposals were unattractive and materially undervalued Rightmove, and as such could not be recommended to shareholders.

 

The Board is confident in Rightmove's prospects as the UK's No. 1 property platform:

-           Rightmove's business model has proven itself able to deliver strong outcomes in all operating environments

-           A clear strategy in place to deliver long term and profitable growth

-           Well positioned to drive innovation and digitisation through the entire property transaction chain, powered by unrivalled market data and insights

-           Together with the Core 1 business, Strategic Growth Areas 2 will deliver a higher-growth, more diversified business, and an even stronger platform

-           The Board is confident that Rightmove's experienced and high-quality management team will continue to successfully drive the Group to create significant value for shareholders

 

Andrew Fisher, Chair, commented: "The Board of Rightmove is grateful to all of its shareholders who have engaged and shared views through this process. Rightmove is an amazing business with a very strong team and a clear strategy. We are confident that we will deliver significant future value for shareholders."

 

Enquiries:

 

        Rightmove
        Investor.Relations@rightmove.co.uk
Investor Relations

Sodali & Co (Financial Communications)

Elly Williamson
                                       +44 207 250 1446 / rightmove@sodali.comRob GreeningJane Glover

 

Notes:

1. Estate Agency and New Homes

2. Commercial Property, Rental Services and Mortgages

 

About Rightmove

 

    --  Rightmove has the UK's largest selection of properties for sale and to
        rent, adds more listings than anyone else, and over 80% of all time
        spent on property portals is on Rightmove.
    --  Rightmove's vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make
        their move by giving people the best place to turn and return to for
        access to tools and expertise to make it happen.
    --  People can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals,
        commercial property and overseas properties and use tools and
        information including getting a Mortgage in Principle, checking local
        sold prices, property valuations, market trends, maps and schools.
    --  Customers include the following key groups: estate agents, lettings
        agents, new homes developers, rental operators, commercial property
        operators and overseas property agents.
    --  Using the UK's largest housing datasets, we issue a number of regular
        reports to track housing market indicators: our monthly House Price
        Index (established 2002), our quarterly Rental Trends Tracker
        (established 2015), and a weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker (established
        2023). Historical data is available on request.
    --  Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006
        and is a member of the FTSE 100 index.