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FULL YEAR ANNOUNCEMENT FOR
RIGHTMOVE PLC - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
Rightmove plc, the UK's largest
property portal, today announces its audited results for the year
ended 31 December 2023.
A year of strong financial,
operational and strategic progress
Financial Highlights
|
2023
|
2022
|
Change vs
2022
|
% Change vs
2022
|
Revenue
|
£364.3m
|
£332.6m
|
£31.7m
|
+10%
|
Operating profit
|
£258.0m
|
£241.3m
|
£16.7m
|
+7%
|
Underlying operating
profit(1)
|
£264.6m
|
£245.4m
|
£19.2m
|
+8%
|
Final dividend
|
5.7p
|
5.2p
|
0.5p
|
+10%
|
Total dividend for the
year
|
9.3p
|
8.5p
|
0.8p
|
+9%
|
Basic earnings per
share
|
24.5p
|
23.4p
|
1.1p
|
+5%
|
Underlying basic earnings per
share(2)
|
25.2p
|
23.8p
|
1.4p
|
+6%
|
·
Revenue up £31.7m/10% on 2022 to £364.3m, as
customers continued to upgrade their packages and increase their
use of digital products
·
Operating profit of £258.0m; up 7% on 2022 (2022:
£241.3m); Underlying Operating Profit(1) of £264.6m; up
8% on 2022 (2022: £245.4m)
· Basic earnings per share up 5% to of 24.5p (2022: 23.4p) and
underlying basic earnings per share(2) up 6% to 25.2p
(2022: 23.8p)
· Final dividend for 2023 up 10% to 5.7p (2022: 5.2p) per
ordinary share. Total dividend for 2023 up 9% to 9.3p (2022:
8.5p)
· £201.7m of cash returned to shareholders through share
buybacks and dividends during 2023 (2022: £197.7m)
· Cash
and cash equivalents, including money market deposits, at the end
of the period was £38.9m (31 December 2022: £40.1m)
Operational highlights
·
Average revenue per advertiser (ARPA)
(3) up 9% to £1,431 per month (2022: £1,314)
·
Total membership reduced 1% at 18,785 (2022:
19,014), with Agency branches down 93/1% and New Homes Developments
down 136/4% since the start of the year
· Resilient traffic, with a total of 15.4 billion(4)
minutes spent on the platform in the year (2022: 16.3 billion).
Time on platform 27% higher than 2019 (2019: 12.1
billion)
· Continued uptake of our top packages - Optimiser Edge and
2020 for agents, with 35% of independent agents now subscribing, up
from 34% in December 2022, and Advanced for developers, with 53% of
developers subscribing (December 2022: 42%)
· Ongoing strategic innovation to increase the digitisation of
sales and rental transactions, with the introduction of agent
mortgage broker solutions for consumers and the full Lead to Keys
digital journey for renters and rental agents
· Rebasing of our emissions targets and continued progress
towards achieving them; alongside the launch of our Go Greener
initiatives to help facilitate the property industry's green
transition, using our vast and unique property market
dataset.
(1) Underlying operating profit
is operating profit before the share-based payments (including the
related National Insurance charge)
(2) Underlying basic EPS is
profit for the year before share-based payments charges (including
the related National Insurance and appropriate tax adjustments),
divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares
outstanding in the period
(3) Average Revenue per
Advertiser (ARPA) is calculated as revenue from Agency and New
Homes advertisers in a given month divided by the total number of
advertisers during the month, measured as a monthly average over
the year
(4) Source: Google
analytics
Outlook
Our financial performance in 2023
reflects the resilience of our business model, our market leading
position with UK consumers and the strength of the Rightmove
network effect. We continue to build the business from this
position of strength.
In 2024, we expect ARPA growth of
£100-£110, driven by the new Optimiser Edge package,
ongoing product uptake and contract renewals, with overall revenue
growth of 7-9%.
Customer numbers are likely to
drop slightly, given the ongoing uncertainty in the macro
environment.
We will continue to invest in
innovation for both our consumers and our customers, and into
accelerating our strategic growth areas of commercial real estate,
rental services and mortgage lead generation, while maintaining
disciplined cost management. We anticipate an underlying operating
margin(1) of 70% in 2024.
Our capital allocation policy
remains unchanged. We prioritise organic investment, including any
bolt-on M&A that might help us to accelerate the execution of
our strategy. We then prioritise a progressive dividend
policy, following which all remaining cash generated in the year is
returned via share buybacks.
The strength of our business
model, coupled with ongoing innovation, underpins the Board's
confidence in Rightmove's outlook for 2024 and beyond.
(1) Underlying operating margin
is defined as the underlying operating profit as a percentage of
revenue.
Johan Svanstrom, Chief Executive Officer,
said:
"In a year of economic uncertainty, consumers continued to
trust Rightmove as the place to turn to help them make their
move. Customers were able to choose from an expanded, more
sophisticated product suite, to continue to drive business results
in a changing market environment.
"Our financial performance in 2023 reflects the strength of
our business model and our platform network
effects.
"The results are underpinned by the commitment and talent of
the Rightmove team, who are focused on innovation and delivering
continuous improvement for our customers and consumers. We
reshaped our strategy during 2023, setting out a plan to further
digitise the property sector, expand our business, stretch our
brand and accelerate the financial performance long term. We are
looking forward to 2024 with confidence and to delivering further
value to all stakeholders on our platform, progressing the
ambitious Rightmove strategy."
The Company will publish a pre-recorded audio results
presentation at 7.00am today, followed by an audio Q&A session
for analysts and investors at 9.30am with Johan Svanstrom, CEO, and
Alison Dolan, CFO.
Enquiries:
Investor
Relations
Investor.Relations@rightmove.co.uk
Rightmove Press
Office
Press@rightmove.co.uk
Powerscourt
rightmove@powerscourt-group.com
Chair's
review
It is my pleasure to present
Rightmove's results for the year ended 31 December 2023. In a
year of ongoing economic challenge, I am delighted that our strong
financial results demonstrate the resilience of the Group's
business model and the value we have delivered for both our
customers and all our stakeholders.
Economic uncertainty, driven by
higher interest rates, continued throughout 2023, with much
speculation on the potential for a negative impact on the housing
market. In the end, housing transactions remained resilient
at 1.0million(1) (2022:1.2million). Home hunters
remained active in their desire to move, and our customers
continued to use our site and digital products to help them find
new properties and sell current ones - developing their own
businesses via Rightmove as they did so. Home hunters continued to
trust and value Rightmove as the place they turn to first and
return to most, as they searched for their next property and for a
trusted agent to help with their home-moving
journey.
The value that Rightmove's customers
and consumers derive from our products is delivered by our talented
and adaptable teams, who are committed to exceeding their
expectations and ensure they receive a market leading experience.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all our customers for
their continued confidence in Rightmove, and our colleagues, for
their dedication and hard work.
Johan Svanstrom succeeded Peter
Brooks-Johnson as Chief Executive in March in an orderly and
seamless transition for which I would like to thank both Peter and
Johan. We set out the strategy for the business for the
coming five-year period at our Investor Day on 27 November,
establishing the size of the opportunities for some of our newer
strategic businesses - commercial real estate; mortgages and rental
services - as well as the ongoing opportunity for growth in our
core business. We provided clarity on the financial and
operational targets we have set and the acceleration of revenue and
profit that these represent.
During 2023, the Board focused on
supporting the management team and on establishing our ambition
over both the medium and longer terms. We also focused on the
potential of AI to help to deliver some of this growth at greater
pace and cost-efficiency, enabling us to continue to give our
customers and consumers the user experience they have come to
expect from the UK's number one property portal.
Financial Results
The Group's results reflect the
strength of the business model and our core value proposition,
delivering underlying operating profit(2) of £264.6m
(2022: £245.4m) and operating profit of £258.0m (2022: £241.3m)
from revenue of £364.3m (2022: £332.6m). Underlying basic earnings
per share(3) was 25.2p (2022: 23.8p) and basic earnings
per share 24.5p (2022: 23.4p). The cash(4) position
at the year-end was £38.9m (2022: £40.1m), having returned all
surplus cash to shareholders.
Returns to shareholders and dividend
In keeping with our policy of
returning free cash to our shareholders, £201.7m (2022: £197.7m)
was returned: £130m through the share buyback programme, and
£71.7m through dividend payments made in May and
October.
The Board remains confident in our
ability to deliver sustainable returns to shareholders and is
recommending a final dividend of 5.7p per share for 2023 (2022:
5.2p). The final dividend will be paid, subject to shareholder
approval, on 24 May 2024, taking the total dividend for the year to
9.3p (2022: 8.5p).
Board changes
On 6 March 2023, Peter
Brooks-Johnson stepped down from his position as CEO and as an
Executive Director. I would like to thank Peter for his leadership
as CEO and for everything he contributed throughout his 16 years of
outstanding service that enabled Rightmove to become the clear
market leader.
Johan Svanstrom was appointed to the
Board on 20 February 2023, and became CEO on 6 March 2023, bringing
an impressive track record of growing established
business-to-consumer online marketplace businesses.
Rakhi Goss-Custard stepped down from
the Board on 5 May 2023, having served her maximum term as a
Non-Executive Director. I would like to thank Rakhi for the
significant contribution she made to the Board throughout her
tenure and particularly for the deep knowledge of the customer and
consumer experiences she brought from a range of other digital
product and mobile platforms.
Kriti Sharma was appointed to the
Board on 25 July 2023. She brings internationally recognised
expertise in AI and a strong record of building and transforming
successful technology businesses and products for consumer, B2B and
enterprise companies. She is currently Chief Product Officer,
LegalTech, for Thomson Reuters and was formerly the VP of
Artificial Intelligence at FTSE 100 software company The Sage Group
plc.
Board governance
The Corporate Responsibility
Committee has continued to guide and oversee progress in the
delivery of our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
strategy. I am delighted with the launch of our new Go
Greener initiative, which will help provide a pathway to greener
property in the UK, recognising that Rightmove has an opportunity
to not only focus on its own operations and emissions but to
contribute, through its unique property market data and insights,
to helping with the UK's target to become Net Zero by
2050.
The Audit Committee has overseen the
selection of a new Head of Internal Audit as we transition, during
2024, from outsourced internal audit to an in-house function and
has continued to monitor the second phase of the implementation of
the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
Looking ahead
Our mission remains to continually
innovate, to make property moving easier and simpler by giving
everyone the best place to turn to - and return to - for access to
the tools, data and expertise to successfully enable their
move.
Whilst continuing to focus on our
core business of the UK domestic property market, our ambitions are
to further invest into, and digitise, our existing but smaller
business areas. These include enhanced advertising in the
commercial real estate market, capturing value from our unique
property data, improving the rental journey and offering a range of
mortgage related products.
I am looking forward to continuing
to work with our teams on our long-held strategy to deliver greater
value for all our stakeholders in 2024.
Andrew Fisher
Chair
(1) Residential property transactions in the UK recorded by
the Land Registry
(2) Underlying Operating Profit is defined as operating
profit before share-based payments charges (including the related
National Insurance)
(3) Underlying basic EPS is defined as profit for the year
before share-based payments charges (including the related National
Insurance and appropriate tax adjustments), divided by the weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue for the
period
(4) Cash including money market deposits
Chief Executive's
review
One year in and I am delighted to
report continued growth for Rightmove through 2023. With all
the macro uncertainty, particularly in the early part of the year,
we have delivered not just strong financial growth, but increased
the quality and range of products and efficiency tools we offer to
our consumers and customers. We also reshaped our strategy, setting
out an ambitious plan to expand our business, stretch our brand,
and deliver meaningful acceleration in both revenues and profits
over the coming five years. Our new vision is to 'give everyone the
belief they can make their move'.
Resilience of the business model through all cycles of the
property market
The housing market slowed somewhat
during 2023, reflecting the increased interest rates and noisy
economic backdrop, to 1.0 million (1) sales transactions
(2022: 1.2 million).
The most notable impact of the
higher interest rate environment was increased caution on the part
of buyers and sellers. Although this prolonged the property cycle
(the time it takes for a seller to find a buyer) to an average of
59 days (2) (2022: 37 days), it remained broadly in line
with pre-pandemic markets (2019: 66 days). In this slower property
market, both estate agents and new homes developers needed to work
harder to close sales and to win new vendor mandates. Nonetheless,
they remained resilient and agile, and trusted the Rightmove
platform and products to provide them with marketing solutions,
lead-generation opportunities and market data.
As a result, our revenues increased
by 10% on 2022. This continued growth in a more challenging
market, as well as during the post pandemic years of more frenzied
property market activity, demonstrates the robustness of our
business model, and the return on investment our products provide
to customers, in all cycles of the property market.
Leading products and innovation for both consumers and
customers
Rightmove remained the place that
consumers chose to turn to first, and engage with most, throughout
2023. Over 86% of all time spent on property portals in the
UK was spent on Rightmove (2022: 85%) (3) and Google
continued to report that more people start their property searches
with 'Rightmove' than with 'Property'(4). Consumers
visited the Rightmove platform over 2.2 billion times during 2023
(2022: 2.3 billion) and spent over 15.4 billion minutes searching
and researching properties (2022: 16.3 billion). The
reduction in both visits and time since 2022 reflects the more
challenging market during 2023, however both metrics are well above
pre-pandemic levels and show the growing strength of the Rightmove
platform; up 38% and 27% respectively on 2019 (2019: 1.6 billion
visits, 12.1 billion minutes).
Consumers ongoing choice of
Rightmove reflects our investment in continuous improvement of the
platform's features and the data that underpins it, and a
determination to ensure that every visit is both worthwhile and
enjoyable. During 2023, we focused on ways to get to know
more about our consumers - to allow us to better personalise their
experiences and provide each visitor with relevant content,
expanding beyond the part of finding a property. In addition to
search tools, we invested in expanding the research data we provide
to consumers - such as our House Price Index, and our publication
of weekly mortgage updates and a quarterly rental tracker; all of
which leverage our unique property data. We sent 3.6 million
consumer emails every week, providing updates and insights on the
property market.
The extent of Rightmove's consumer
reach means that our customers can advertise their own brands and
properties to the largest property audience in the UK. With our
suite of marketing products, customers see both outstanding and
measurable results. During 2023, we continued to invest in
new and improved products to deliver further customer value and to
improve marketing opportunities. We enhanced our top package for estate agents with the launch of
Optimiser Edge, which contains two exclusive products: Native
Search Adverts (NSA), an interactive advert on the search results
page that drives enhanced consumer engagement and the ability to
re-target consumers; and a Premium version of our Price Guide that
provides data-backed personalized reporting to support agents'
valuations. Both products exemplify how Rightmove can deliver
unsurpassed value from the largest and deepest data set in the UK
market. The top package for new homes developers, Advanced, was
upgraded to improve the look of video content which showcases their
developments.
The extent of our consumer reach
also allows us to provide customers with a wealth of behavioural
data through our lead-generation products - Rightmove Discover and
Local Valuation Alert - which increase the value of a Rightmove
sales lead. Over 60 million leads were sent from our platform
during 2023, a reduction on 2022 (2022: 67 million) due to the
slower market and buyer caution, but a strong 50% increase on 2019
(2019: 40 million), demonstrating the value of our ongoing
investment in lead generation products.
More than marketing
Customers get much more than
marketing as part of their Rightmove membership. Our customer
platform, Rightmove Plus, is designed to make running customers'
day-to-day businesses easier and more time efficient, through
managing their listings, accessing data and generating reports such
as the Best Price Guide (used over 19 million times in 2023).
Customers also have access to the Rightmove Hub which provides
market leading professional training programmes for their
employees. This includes regularly scheduled CPD-certified webinars
- covering topics from the latest legislation and mandatory
training requirements to changes in the market conditions (viewed
over 23,000 times during 2023); a hub of supporting documents and
material to research and read; and our free Ofqual-regulated Level
3 Certificate for Estate and Lettings Agents (CELA), which over
3,000 agents signed up to during 2023. Agent managers can assign,
track and ensure compliance with training across their teams using
the Teams View tool within the Hub. Over 40,000 individual agents
are registered on the Rightmove Hub.
Expanding our vision and strategy
Our vision is to give everyone the
belief they can make their move, and, to achieve that vision, our
mission remains to make the move easier and simpler, by giving
everyone access to the best tools, expertise and data to make it
happen. Our strategy is ultimately to deliver exceptional value to
both customers and consumers on the back of the broadest range of
property data in the UK, fuelled by unsurpassed digital scale,
which in turn will generate growth and exceptional value for all
our stakeholders.
As we set out at our Investor Day in
November, we see numerous opportunities to expand the Rightmove
offering, beyond our ongoing focus on the core business of the
residential property market segment. Although the core business will remain our
primary business driver, we have now set our ambition in each of
commercial real estate, rental services
and mortgage generation. We are going deeper into the value
chain within several property market segments and further
digitising processes together with our partners: beyond 'find' and
into 'afford' as well as the later stages of 'transact', 'move' and
'lifestyle'.
During 2023, we made progress in
each of these three strategic growth areas. In rentals, which
stands for over 50% of all moving journeys each year in the UK
(5), we developed a new solution, whereby a rental
agreement can now be achieved in five digitised and connected
steps, bringing efficiency to all three stakeholders of consumers,
agents and landlords. In financial services, we doubled our
revenue by building out our digital mortgage in principle (MIP)
tool, to provide greater volumes and higher-quality MIP leads to
our lender partner. We also connected an estate agent
broker to the online application journey; for the first time
allowing consumers to access mortgage advice without leaving our
platform, by innovating together with our agent partners.
Finally, our commercial real estate business saw strong
double-digit growth as we began the process of creating a
world-class digital commercial real-estate advertising product. We
see significant long-term opportunity by deepening the Rightmove
commercial product set and delivering value to commercial
landlords, tenants and brokers on a market leading and UK focused
platform.
We have strong conviction that our
strategy will serve us well over the medium-term. It is
underpinned not only by our business model and network effect, but
by structural tailwinds in the UK property market, which has a
shortage of housing stock relative to demand; a growing population;
increasing lifespans; increasing real estate values, and
ever-increasing digital adoption, all of which create a multiplier
economic effect. We are investing in
our data platform and the enabling technologies of cloud, mobile
and generative AI. We see opportunities to further strengthen our
data moat and leading network effects, driving discovery and
efficiency for consumers and customers, as well as internal
operations.
Our vision to give everyone the
belief that they can make their move is all-encompassing. The
Rightmove platform and data will provide the products, data and
insights for anyone considering any property related move,
delivering value to the entire eco-system.
Contributing to communities and the
environment
Giving back to the communities in
which we operate, not only through volunteering and charitable
giving, but through supporting the environment, is high on our
agenda.
We believe that Rightmove has not
just the opportunity, but the responsibility, to provide insights
to help the UK go greener and to accelerate change to meet its Net
Zero targets by 2050. The UK property market contributes 25%
of total UK emissions(6). Rightmove's platform has
the reach and audience, as well as vast amounts of unique property
market data, to inform and facilitate action amongst stakeholders
to drive the needed reduction in sector emissions.
We launched our Go Greener
initiative in the second half of the year, which provides a pathway
to greener property in the UK and defines the central pillars of
how Rightmove will contribute: Greener Homes, Greener Data, Greener
Buildings, Greener Rightmove. Our initiatives include supplying
green property data and insights to better understand a property's
green credentials; becoming a trusted voice for consumers,
customers and property professionals as they assess the challenges
and benefits of making green improvements; and driving greener
buildings by enabling commercial tenants and investors to discover
sustainable buildings and opportunities. We also published
our second Greener Homes report (7) in July,
which combined millions of Rightmove's property
data points, from the last 15 years, as well as government data and
opinions from thousands of homeowners, landlords and renters that
we surveyed. The report provided suggestions and insights on the
incentives that are needed to help people make green
improvements.
Rightmove, in parallel, is
continuing its focus on improving its own operational emissions and
targets. In 2023, we achieved our three-year environmental target
to reduce our office electricity tonnes of CO2 by 10% and are ahead
of plan on our target to have 75% of fleet cars ultra-low emission
by 2025, and 100% by 2028. We also completed a rebase of 2020
calculation methodology and data sets, to ensure consistency with
our latest carbon footprint calculation.
Moving forward with the Rightmove team
The commitment and talent of the
Rightmove team was one of my first impressions on joining, and it
has endured. The team underpins Rightmove's success. We have
a performant culture that is inclusive, creative, innovative and
collaborative. Our team is focused on delivering for our
customers and consumers and driving improvement right across the
business. Working and playing hard, well over 80% of employees say
that 'Rightmove is a great place to work' in the annual employee
survey.
Employee polices and benefits were
reviewed and enhanced during the year: two additional days annual
holiday for everyone, plus two further 'Rightmove gives-back' days
for volunteering; increasing the employer pension contribution; and
an increased cycle to work allowance. We refreshed and extended our
Thrive programme which provides support and training in well-being,
mental health and financial matters.
Diversity is core to our People
agenda, benefitting everyone and the business: bringing not only a
more enjoyable workplace but a broader range of perspectives, which
reflect the consumers and customers we serve, promoting innovation
and business success. We continue to evolve our internal training
on all aspects of diversity. Whilst we are pleased that certain
aspects have improved, such as our gender pay gap and the ethnic
diversity of our employees reflecting the UK population, we believe
and know there is always more to do.
I am proud of what the Rightmove
team delivered, and equally proud of our ambitions for the future -
and would like to thank everyone for the hard and high-quality work
during 2023. I look forward to continuing to support the team in
delivering further value to all stakeholders on our platform and
progressing the ambitious Rightmove strategy.
Johan Svanstrom
Chief Executive Officer
(1) Residential property transactions in the UK recorded by
the Land Registry
(2) Source - Rightmove Data Services
(3) Source: Comscore Mobile
Metrix® Mobile App only, total Audience, Custom-defined list of
Rightmove (Mobile App) and Zoopla Property Search (Mobile App),
January - December 2023, United Kingdom.
(4) Source: Google
analytics
(5) Based on number of
private rented properties in the UK and average tenancy length
(English Housing Survey 2022-2023)
(6) Source - UK Green
Building Council
(7) Source - Green Homes
Report available at
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/guides/energy-efficiency/rightmove-greener-homes-report-2023/
Financial
review
A
strong financial performance, against an uncertain economic
backdrop, driven by the resilient and growing demand for
Rightmove's products and services that deliver exceptional value
for customers and consumers.
Revenue
Revenue increased by £31.7m/10% on
2022, to £364.3m (2022: £332.6m), due to increased demand for our
products and packages within Estate Agency and New Homes, annual
price increases and growth in the Other business units.
|
2023
£m
|
2022
£m
|
Change vs 2022
£m
|
Change vs 2022
%
|
Agency
|
262.0
|
247.3
|
14.7
|
6%
|
New Homes
|
66.4
|
52.6
|
13.8
|
26%
|
Other
|
35.9
|
32.7
|
3.2
|
10%
|
Total revenue
|
364.3
|
332.6
|
31.7
|
10%
|
|
2023
|
2022
|
Change vs
2022
|
Change vs 2022
%
|
Agency branches
|
15,839
|
15,932
|
(93)
|
(1%)
|
New Homes developments
|
2,946
|
3,082
|
(136)
|
(4%)
|
Total membership
|
18,785
|
19,014
|
(229)
|
(1%)
|
Agency revenues increased to
£262.0m, up 6%/£14.7m on 2022, as agents continued to invest in
additional products and to upgrade their packages, as well as the
annual price increases from contract renewals. Agency
ARPA(1) increased to £1,356 - up 6%/£78 on 2022 (2022:
£1,278). Agency customer numbers ended the year broadly flat at
15,839 - down 1%/ 93 compared to 2022 (2022: 15,932).
New Homes revenue, at £66.4m, was up
26%/£13.8m on 2022, reflecting significant upgrades to the Advanced
package, incremental purchase of products, and successful contract
renewals. New Homes ARPA(2) increased to £1,825 per
development per month, up 21%/£312 on 2022 (2022: £1,513).
Development numbers ended the year at 2,946 - a decrease of 4%/ 136
on 2022 (2022: 3,082).
Outside the core business, our other
business units also grew by £3.2m/10% in aggregate, led by our
Strategic Growth Businesses. Mortgages revenues doubled, growing by
over 130%(3), as more consumers completed their
transactions with a mortgage initially secured through our
Mortgages in Principle product. Commercial Real Estate
revenues grew by 15%(4), driven by higher customer
numbers, and higher ARPA reflecting increased spending on digital
products - multi-channel marketing campaigns and banner adverts in
particular.
2023
Revenue by Segment
Administration costs
Administration costs of £106.3m
were up £15.0m/16% from £91.3m in 2022. Underlying operating
costs(5) (defined as operating costs before the
inclusion of share-based payments charges and related National
Insurance of £6.5m) were £99.7m - an increase of £12.5m/14% on 2022
(2022: £87.2m). The increase is due primarily to:
· £8m
higher payroll costs: reflecting increased headcount of 12%
(average 727 vs 647 in 2022) and the impact of the annual salary
increase (7%), partially offset by reduced contractor costs as
permanent roles were filled throughout the year;
· £2m
higher Tech costs: mostly from increased spend on consultancy on
AI; migration of our data centres to the Cloud; infrastructure
maintenance; and higher costs for software licences following the
increased headcount;
· £2m
of increased overhead costs: general inflation across rent and
utilities, staff expenses; higher spend on legal and professional
fees; and larger doubtful debt charges reflecting the impact of the
challenging market dynamics on smaller agents with more payment
plans utilised during the year; and,
· £0.5m increased depreciation and amortisation charges:
reflecting increased software amortisation following the full year
impact, and ongoing capitalisation of MIP and ERP development
costs.
The share-based payments charge of
£6.5m increased by £2.4m on 2022 (2022: £4.1m) reflecting new
awards, accelerated charges for good leavers and the impact of the
increase in the share price during the year on the national
insurance charge.
Operating profit
|
2023
£m
|
2022
£m
|
Change vs 2022
£m
|
Change vs 2022
%
|
Revenue
|
364.3
|
332.6
|
31.7
|
10%
|
Admin costs
|
(106.3)
|
(91.3)
|
(15.0)
|
16%
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating profit
|
258.0
|
241.3
|
16.7
|
7%
|
Operating margin
|
71%
|
73%
|
|
|
|
Operating profit of £258.0m
increased by 7%/£16.7m on 2022, with an operating profit margin for
2023 of 71% (2022: 73%).
Underlying operating
profit(6) of £264.6m increased by 8%/£19.2m compared to 2022 (2022:
£245.4m), with an underlying operating profit
margin(7) of 73% (2022: 74%).
Earnings per share (EPS)
Basic EPS increased by 5% to 24.5p
(2022: 23.4p), driven by the increase in profit and continuance of
the share buyback programme, which reduced the weighted average
number of ordinary shares in issue to 813.3m (2022:
835.3m).
Underlying basic EPS(8)
(based on underlying operating profit(6)) increased by
6% to 25.2p (2022: 23.8p).
Taxation
The consolidated effective tax
rate for the year ended 31 December 2023 was 23.3%
(2022: 18.9%), slightly below the UK's blended standard rate
for the year of 23.5% (2022: 19.0%).
All tax matters are managed to ensure that the right amount of tax
is paid and collected at the right time, in line with all
applicable tax laws and there were no overdue taxes at the year
end.
As in prior years, the total of UK
taxes paid and collected by the Group is significantly more than
the corporation tax paid on UK profits. Rightmove's total tax
contribution to the UK Exchequer was £148.4m in 2023 (2022:
£119.8m). Of this, £69.1m (2022: £52.2m) related to taxes borne by
the Group, while the remaining £79.2m (2022: £67.6m) was collected
in respect of payroll taxes and net VAT. The increase in
total tax contribution compared to the prior year is primarily due
to the rise in corporation tax rate to 25.0% effective 1 April
2023, and higher operating profit, which impacted both VAT and
corporation tax. Rightmove's tax strategy can be found on the
corporate website.
Summary consolidated statement of financial
position
|
2023
£m
|
2022
£m
|
Change
£m
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
9.4
|
10.4
|
(1.0)
|
Intangible assets
|
21.8
|
22.1
|
(0.3)
|
Deferred tax asset
|
2.4
|
1.5
|
0.9
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
31.5
|
26.6
|
4.9
|
Contract assets
|
0.8
|
0.5
|
0.3
|
Income tax receivable
|
0.2
|
0.6
|
(0.4)
|
Money market deposits
|
5.2
|
5.0
|
0.2
|
Cash
|
33.6
|
35.1
|
(1.5)
|
Trade and other payables
|
(24.7)
|
(20.9)
|
(3.8)
|
Contract liabilities
|
(2.5)
|
(2.3)
|
(0.2)
|
Lease liabilities
|
(7.5)
|
(9.6)
|
2.1
|
Provisions
|
(0.8)
|
(0.8)
|
0.0
|
Net
assets
|
69.4
|
68.2
|
1.2
|
Rightmove's balance sheet at
31 December 2023 shows net assets and total equity at
£69.4m (2022: £68.2m), including cash and money market
deposits of £38.8m (2022: £40.1m).
Trade and other receivables of
£31.5m increased by £4.9m on December 2022, primarily reflecting
higher revenues in 2023, which increased trade receivables to
£24.5m (2022: £20.9m), as well as some ageing of debts, with debtor
days for the year at 24 (2022: 23 days). The remaining increase in
other receivables reflects the timing of prepayments and quarterly
interest receivable on cash and money market deposits.
Trade and other payables of £24.7m
increased by £3.8m due to the timing of expenditure and invoices
received for both trade and capital expenditure purchases, as well
as higher year end creditors for VAT and social security payments;
where the increases are driven by higher revenues and increased
headcount. Payments to suppliers continued to be
made on a timely basis: on average within 19 days (2022: 17
days).
Cash flow and liquidity
Rightmove remained debt-free
during 2023 and cash generation remained strong at 104% of
Operating Profit(9) (2022: 101%). Cash generated from
operating activities increased by £24.0m to £268.2m (2022:
£244.2m).
The closing cash balance,
including money market deposits, was £38.8m (2022: £40.1m).
Surplus cash continues to be invested in short-term,
easily-accessible money market deposits, including in a green
money-market fund.
The Group bought back and
cancelled 24.0m ordinary shares during the year (2022: 22.3m), at a
cost of £130.9m (including expenses) as part of its ongoing share
buyback programme (2022: £130.9m). Dividends totalling £71.7m
in relation to the final 2022 dividend payment and interim 2023
payment were also paid during the year (2022: £67.7m).
Shareholder returns
Consistent with our progressive
dividend policy, the Directors are recommending a final dividend of
5.7p per ordinary share, which will take the total dividend for the
year to 9.3p - growth of 9% on the 2022 dividend. It will be
paid on 24 May 2024 to all shareholders on the register on 26 April
2024.
Alison
Dolan
Chief Financial Officer
(1) Agency ARPA is calculated
as revenue from Agency advertisers in a given month divided by the
total number of advertisers during the month, measured as a monthly
average over the year
(2) New Homes ARPA is
calculated as revenue from New Homes developers in a given month
divided by the total number of developers during the month,
measured as a monthly average over the year
(3) Mortgage revenue growth of
over 130% resulted in revenue of £2.2m for the 2023 financial
year
(4) Commercial revenue growth
of 15% resulted in revenue of £12.2m for the 2023 financial
year
(5) Underlying costs are
defined as administrative expenses before share-based payments
charges (including the related National
Insurance)
(6) Underlying operating profit
is defined as operating profit before share-based payments charges
(including the related National Insurance)
(7) Underlying operating margin
is defined as the underlying operating profit as a percentage of
revenue
(8) Underlying basic EPS is
defined as profit for the year before share-based payments charges
(including the related National Insurance and appropriate tax
adjustments), divided by the weighted average number of ordinary
shares in issue for the period
(9) Cash generated from
operating activities of £268.2m (2022: £244.2m) compared to
operating profit as reported in the income statement of £258.0m
(2022: £241.3m).
Principal risks and
uncertainties
The principal risks and
uncertainties facing the Rightmove Group have been assessed in
accordance with our risk management framework. Principal risks are
defined as those risks which could seriously affect the
performance, future prospects or reputation of the Group. These
include risks that would threaten the Group's business model,
future performance, solvency or liquidity.
Effective management of these
risks is essential to the execution of our strategy, the
achievement of sustainable shareholder value, the maintenance of
our reputation, and ongoing good governance.
A description of the principal
risks and uncertainties faced by the Group in 2023 (in no order of
priority), together with the potential impact and monitoring and
mitigating activities, is set out in the table below.
Macroeconomic environment
change from prior year
|
The Group derives almost all its
revenues from the UK and is therefore dependent, to a certain
extent, on the prevailing macroeconomic conditions in the UK
housing market and on consumer confidence, both of which can
influence the number of property transactions in a given
year. The Rightmove business model and consumer engagement
largely shield it from all but extreme market swings - nonetheless
a severe and prolonged recession could reduce the customer base
and, potentially, negatively impact revenues.
|
Potential impact
|
Substantially fewer housing
transactions than normal may lead to a reduction, or consolidation,
in the number of agency branches, or a reduction in the number of
new home developments advertised; both of which are an important
contributor to the Group's revenues. A more uncertain macro and/or
political environment may lengthen the property transaction cycle,
reducing cash flows for smaller agents and/or leading to a
reduction in advertisers' marketing budgets, reducing demand for
the Group's property advertising products.
|
Changes in the year
|
Despite the ongoing economic
uncertainty during 2023, housing transactions remained broadly
stable at 1.0 million(1)
(2022: 1.2 million and 2019: 1.0 million) and the
impact on Rightmove's performance and results was minimal:
revenue was up 10% and membership numbers broadly flat (229/1%
lower than December 2022) and ARPA(2) was up 9%/£117 from
2022.
|
Risk monitoring and mitigation
|
· Monitoring of the housing market, including leading
indicators and membership trends
· Continuing to provide the most significant and effective
exposure for customers' brands and properties
· Remaining the primary source of high-quality leads, offering
value-adding products and packages and helping to drive operational
efficiencies for our customers; thereby embedding the value of our
membership
· Maintaining a flexible cost base that can respond to changing
conditions
|
Competitive
environment change
from prior year
|
The Group operates in a
competitive marketplace, with attractive margins and low barriers
to entry, which may result in increased competition from existing
competitors, or new entrants targeting the Group's primary
markets.
|
Potential impact
|
Increased competition may impact
Rightmove's ability to grow revenues due to a potential loss of
audience, advertisers or demand for additional advertising
products.
|
Changes in the year
|
There have been some changes in
the competitive environment during the year. Rightmove
continued to retain the largest and most engaged audience of any UK
property portal - its market share of a selection of the top
property portals was 86% in 2023(3) (2022:
85.0%)(3)
|
Risk monitoring and mitigation
|
· Sustained investment and innovation to provide products to
our customers to help them build their businesses and to consumers
to meet all of their property search and listing
requirements
· Communication of Rightmove's value to advertisers
· Continued investment in our account management teams to help
customers run their businesses more efficiently
· Sustained marketing investment in the Rightmove
brand
|
New or Disruptive
technologies change
from prior year
|
Rightmove operates in a
fast-moving online marketplace. Failure to innovate or adopt new
technologies and or failure to adapt to changing customer business
models and evolving consumer behaviour may impact the Group's
ability to offer the best products and services to its advertisers
and the best consumer experience.
|
Potential impact
|
Failing to innovate on a timely
basis may impact Rightmove's ability to grow or sustain revenues
due to the potential loss of audience engagement, advertisers and
demand for additional advertising products.
|
Changes in the year
|
Progress continues with Cloud
migration, currently over 40% complete and expect to complete in
2025. Following the procurement of our new user research tool
in 2022, over 2,000 sessions were held with users to conduct
research, understand evolving needs and how Rightmove can
support. With the acceleration in technology advancement
within AI over the past 18 months, we conducted an accelerated
discovery programme, to understand both the threats and
opportunities that AI poses for Rightmove, in advance of building
out our AI capability in 2024. Finally, investing continued in the
consumer proposition to accelerate progress.
|
Risk monitoring and mitigation
|
· Ongoing research and prototyping of new concepts with
users
· Formation of the new AI and consumer teams that will enable
us to accelerate innovation in our consumer roadmap
· Ongoing engagement with start-ups, prop-tech and
international peers to stay abreast of market innovation
|
Cyber security and IT
systems Change
from prior year
|
The Group has a high dependency on
technology and IT systems. In today's digital world there are
increased risks associated with external cyber-attacks which could
result in an inability to operate our platforms. A security breach,
such as corruption or loss of key data, may disrupt the efficiency
and functioning of the Group's day-to-day operations.
|
Potential impact
|
Any loss of website availability,
or theft/misuse of data held within the Group's databases and IT
systems, could result in reputational damage to the Group from loss
of consumer and customer confidence, as well as financial loss
arising from increased downtime or potential penalties, fines and
lawsuits.
|
Changes in the year
|
High levels of cyber threat-activity
continued. We remained focused on investing in enhanced
security controls, across both our website hosting environment and
administrative IT estate, ensuring that customers', consumers', and
company data is protected. In addition to our in house IT
environments, we extended security activities this year to cover
cloud-based SaaS services which increasingly support our day-to-day
business operations. Third-party assurance exercises continued to
be used to validate our capabilities and controls; undertaking
penetration tests, benchmarking exercises, and an assessment of
current working practices against the ISO27001 standard for
information security management.
|
Risk monitoring and mitigation
|
· Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans subject to
regular testing and review, including incident response
capabilities, which are provided by external managed
services
· Best
in class security controls (and investment in) for both all of our
IT environments (on-premise, cloud and SaaS)
· Regular testing of the security of our IT systems and
platforms - including penetration testing with ongoing monitoring
and detection of external threats and threat
capabilities
· Regular internal information security training, phishing and
spearphishing tests
· Embedding best practice for secure application development
into our software development lifecycle
· Regular review of any changes in the technology landscape
(for example, AI) and assessment of the security
implications
|
|
Regulatory risks
Change from prior
year
|
The Group operates in an
increasingly complex regulatory environment. There is a risk that
the Group fails to comply with these requirements or to respond to
changes in regulations - including GDPR and, for its subsidiaries,
the Financial Conduct Authority's rules and guidance.
|
Potential impact
|
Failure to meet regulatory
requirements could lead to reputational damage, legal action and/or
financial penalties - all of which could impact both the
performance of the Group and returns to shareholders
|
Changes in the year
|
Key changes in 2023 included
updates to our existing Consumer Duty policies, processes and
controls to ensure compliance with the new requirements, as
directed by the FCA; continued work on our primary and secondary
Data Protection Impact Assessments; as well updating our cookie
policy, launching a new cookie wall and updating the marketing
consent modal.
|
Risk monitoring and mitigation
|
· Code
of Conduct in place, underpinned by policies and
procedures
· Group-wide mandatory training programmes, which include
anti-bribery and corruption, data privacy, information security and
continuous professional development for all in regulated
roles
· A
dedicated internal legal, risk and compliance team responsible for
identifying, assessing and responding to upcoming changes in laws
and regulations; with access to external specialist
advice.
· Risk
Management Frameworks in place to monitor, oversee and challenge
both legal & regulatory risks and ensuring compliance with our
regulated activities
· Proactive engagement with regulators, legislators, trade
bodies and policy makers
|
|
Securing and retaining the right
talent Change
from prior year
|
Our continued success is dependent
on our ability to attract, recruit, retain and motivate our highly
skilled workforce.
|
Potential impact
|
An inability to recruit and retain
talented people could impact our ability to maintain our financial
performance and deliver our strategic objectives. If key
staff leave or retire, there is a risk that knowledge or
competitive advantage is lost.
|
Changes in the year
|
During 2023, we announced several
changes in benefits which included awarding all employees an
additional two days' annual holiday from 2024 onwards, and
additional loyalty days for all those who reach 10 years' service.
Other benefit options were refreshed, which included pension
contributions and private medical health. Investment continued in
employee development and training - with a focus on manager
capabilities, well being and learning opportunities, which include
one-to-one well-being coaching. The non-executive directors
continued to host face to face sessions with employees to hear
feedback first-hand. Employee sentiment remains strong, with our
'great place to work' score at 88% (2022: 87%).
|
Risk monitoring and mitigation
|
· Regular benchmarking of total reward packages
· Regular staff communication and engagement and semi-annual
employee survey
· Ongoing succession planning and development of future
leaders
· Learning and development for all employees, including
mandatory training
· The
ability for all employees to participate in the success of the
Group through the SIP and SAYE schemes
· Hybrid working policy to provide the option of up to three
days at home, with two set days in the office
|
Key:
No change since prior year
Slight increase since prior
year
Slight decrease since prior year
Emerging
risks
Emerging risks are new risks, or
changing risks, which we believe are not immediate but may
represent a significant future opportunity or threat, are not yet
fully understood, and where the likelihood and the impact are
uncertain or even widely unknown. These include company-specific
risks and global risks affecting the macro economy and
are beyond any particular party's capacity to control,
including scenarios which could derail our strategic
plans.
Our approach to emerging risk
identification, prioritisation and response, is systematic and
includes horizon scanning and impact assessment, and consideration
of consolidating risks. This identification, capture, evaluation
and on-going monitoring of emerging risks falls within our risk
management framework and is reviewed formally by the Board
semi-annually with the risk register. Examples of emerging risks
include:
· The
pace of change in relation to environmental and other ESG matters
as well as evolving consumer expectations; and
· The
pace of technological change with regards to Artificial
Intelligence and the possible impact on consumer
behaviour.
(1) Residential property transactions in
the UK recorded by the Land Registry
(2) Revenue from Agency and New Home
advertisers in a given month divided by the total number of
advertisers during the month, measured as a monthly average over
the year.
(3) Source: Comscore MMX® Desktop only +
Comscore Mobile Metrix® Mobile Web & App, Total Audience,
Custom-defined list of Rightmove Sites, RIGHTMOVE.CO.UK,
ZOOPLA.CO.UK, PRIMELOCATION.COM, ONTHEMARKET.COM, January -
December 2023, United Kingdom
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
AS AT
31 DECEMBER 2023
|
|
2023
|
2022
|
|
Note
|
£000
|
£000
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
3
|
364,316
|
332,622
|
Administrative expenses
|
|
(106,283)
|
(91,279)
|
Operating profit
|
4
|
258,033
|
241,343
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating profit before share-based incentive
charges
|
|
264,570
|
245,412
|
Share-based incentive charge
|
12
|
(6,537)
|
(4,069)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial income
|
|
2,227
|
381
|
Financial expenses
|
|
(491)
|
(442)
|
Net
financial income/(expense)
|
|
1,736
|
(61)
|
Profit before tax
|
|
259,769
|
241,282
|
Income tax expense
|
7
|
(60,618)
|
(45,601)
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year being total comprehensive
income
|
|
199,151
|
195,681
|
Attributable to: Equity
holders of the Parent
|
|
199,151
|
195,681
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share (pence)
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
5
|
24.5
|
23.4
|
Diluted
|
5
|
24.4
|
23.4
|
|
|
|
|
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF
FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023
|
Note
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Non-current assets
|
|
|
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
|
9,385
|
10,429
|
Intangible assets
|
|
21,842
|
22,074
|
Deferred tax asset
|
|
2,383
|
1,460
|
Total non-current assets
|
|
33,610
|
33,963
|
Current assets
|
|
|
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
8
|
31,474
|
26,614
|
Contract assets
|
|
759
|
454
|
Income tax receivable
|
|
165
|
593
|
Money market deposits
|
|
5,224
|
5,047
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
33,641
|
35,089
|
Total current assets
|
|
71,263
|
67,797
|
Total assets
|
|
104,873
|
101,760
|
Current liabilities
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables
|
9
|
(24,737)
|
(20,874)
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
(2,291)
|
(2,327)
|
Contract liabilities
|
|
(2,536)
|
(2,325)
|
Total current liabilities
|
|
(29,564)
|
(25,526)
|
Non-current liabilities
|
|
|
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
(5,112)
|
(7,242)
|
Provisions
|
|
(841)
|
(829)
|
Total non-current liabilities
|
|
(5,953)
|
(8,071)
|
Total liabilities
|
|
(35,517)
|
(33,597)
|
Net
assets
|
|
69,356
|
68,163
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
10
|
814
|
838
|
Other reserves
|
|
618
|
594
|
Retained earnings (net of own shares
held)
|
|
67,924
|
66,731
|
Total equity attributable to the equity holders of the
Parent
|
|
69,356
|
68,163
|
The accompanying notes form part of these financial
statements.
The financial statements were
approved by the Board of Directors on 29 February 2024 and were
signed on its behalf by:
Johan Svanstrom
Director
Alison Dolan
Director
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF
CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
|
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Cash flows from operating activities
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year
|
|
199,151
|
195,681
|
|
|
|
|
Adjustments for:
|
|
|
|
Depreciation charges
|
|
3,424
|
3,504
|
Amortisation charges
|
|
1,560
|
1,082
|
Financial income
|
|
(2,227)
|
(381)
|
Financial expenses
|
|
491
|
442
|
Share-based payments
|
|
5,886
|
4,179
|
Income tax expense
|
|
60,618
|
45,601
|
|
|
|
|
Operating cash flow before changes in working
capital
|
|
268,903
|
250,108
|
|
|
|
|
Increase in trade and other
receivables
|
|
(4,503)
|
(3,456)
|
Increase/(decrease) in trade and
other payables
|
|
3,863
|
(1,883)
|
Increase in provisions
|
|
-
|
39
|
Increase in contract
assets
|
|
(305)
|
(334)
|
Increase/(decrease) in contract
liabilities
|
|
211
|
(308)
|
|
|
|
|
Cash generated from operating activities
|
|
268,169
|
244,166
|
|
|
|
|
Financial expenses paid
|
|
(479)
|
(451)
|
Income taxes paid
|
|
(60,979)
|
(45,622)
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash from operating activities
|
|
206,711
|
198,093
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows used in investing activities
|
|
|
|
Interest received on cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
1,694
|
305
|
Increase in money market
deposits
|
|
-
|
(44)
|
Acquisition of property, plant and
equipment
|
|
(2,018)
|
(835)
|
Acquisition of intangible
assets
|
|
(1,328)
|
(2,015)
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
(1,652)
|
(2,589)
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows used in financing activities
|
|
|
|
Dividends
|
|
(71,651)
|
(67,679)
|
Purchase of own shares for
cancellation
|
|
(130,000)
|
(129,981)
|
Purchase of own shares for share
incentive plans
|
|
(1,998)
|
(2,898)
|
Cost incurred on purchase of own
shares
|
|
(922)
|
(933)
|
Payment of principal portion of
lease liabilities
|
|
(2,530)
|
(2,391)
|
Proceeds on exercise of share-based
incentives
|
|
594
|
482
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
|
(206,507)
|
(203,400)
|
Net decrease in cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
(1,448)
|
(7,896)
|
Cash and cash equivalents at
1 January
|
|
35,089
|
42,985
|
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December
|
|
33,641
|
35,089
|
The accompanying notes form part of
these financial statements
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF
CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
|
|
Share
capital
£000
|
Own shares
held
£000
|
Other
reserves
£000
|
Reverse acquisition
reserve
£000
|
Retained
earnings
£000
|
Total
equity
£000
|
At
1 January 2022
|
|
860
|
(11,588)
|
434
|
138
|
80,688
|
70,532
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
195,681
|
195,681
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transactions with owners recorded directly in
equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share-based payments
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4,179
|
4,179
|
Tax credit in respect of
share-based incentives recognised directly in equity
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(1,220)
|
(1,220)
|
Dividends
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(67,679)
|
(67,679)
|
Exercise of share-based
awards
|
|
-
|
588
|
-
|
-
|
(106)
|
482
|
Purchase of shares for share
incentive plans
|
|
-
|
(2,898)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(2,898)
|
Cancellation of own
shares
|
|
(22)
|
-
|
22
|
-
|
(129,981)
|
(129,981)
|
Costs of shares purchases
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(933)
|
(933)
|
At
31 December 2022
|
|
838
|
(13,898)
|
456
|
138
|
80,629
|
68,163
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At
1 January 2023
|
|
838
|
(13,898)
|
456
|
138
|
80,629
|
68,163
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
199,151
|
199,151
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transactions with owners recorded directly in
equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share-based payments
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5,886
|
5,886
|
Tax charge in respect of
share-based incentives recognised directly in equity
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
133
|
133
|
Dividends
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(71,651)
|
(71,651)
|
Exercise of share-based
incentives
|
|
-
|
2,156
|
-
|
-
|
(1,562)
|
594
|
Purchase of shares for
share incentive plans
|
|
-
|
(1,998)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(1,998)
|
Cancellation of own
shares
|
|
(24)
|
-
|
24
|
-
|
(130,000)
|
(130,000)
|
Costs of share purchases
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(922)
|
(922)
|
At
31 December 2023
|
|
814
|
(13,740)
|
480
|
138
|
81,664
|
69,356
|
The accompanying notes form part of
these financial statements.
NOTES
1 General information, judgements and
estimates
The
financial information set out above does not constitute the
company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2023
or 2022 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for
2022 have been delivered to the registrar of companies, and those
for 2023 will be delivered on 1 March 2024.
The auditor has reported on those
accounts; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include
a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by
way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not
contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies
Act 2006.
Rightmove plc (the Company) is a
public limited company registered in England (Company no. 6426485)
domiciled in the United Kingdom (UK). The consolidated financial
statements of the Company as at and for the year ended 31 December
2023 comprise the Company and its interest in its subsidiaries
(together referred to as the Group).
The consolidated financial
statements of the Group as at and for the year ended 31 December
2023 are available upon request to the Company Secretary from the
Company's registered office at 2 Caldecotte Lake Business Park,
Caldecotte Lake Drive, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes, MK7 8LE or are
available on the corporate website at
plc.rightmove.co.uk.
Statement of compliance
The Group's financial statements have been prepared and
approved by the Board of Directors in accordance with UK-adopted
international accounting standards ("IFRS"). The consolidated
financial statements were authorised for issue by the Board of
Directors on 29 February 2024.
Basis of preparation
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted
international accounting standards and the requirements of the
Companies Act 2006. On publishing the Group's financial statements,
the Company is taking advantage of the exemption in section 408 of
the Companies Act 2006 not to present its individual statement of
comprehensive income and related notes that form a part of these
approved financial statements. The financial statements have been
prepared on an historical cost basis.
Climate change
In preparing the financial
statements, the Directors have considered the impact of climate
change, particularly in the context of the climate change risks
identified in the Sustainability section of the Strategic Report
and the Group's stated target of net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
These considerations did not have a material impact on the
financial reporting judgements and estimates in the current year.
This reflects the conclusion that climate change is not expected to
have a significant impact on the Group's short-term or medium-term
cash flows including those considered in the going concern and
viability assessments, impairment assessments of the carrying value
of non-current assets and the estimates of future profitability
used in our assessment of the recoverability of deferred tax
assets.
Basis of consolidation
Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the
Group. Control exists when the Group has existing rights that give
it the ability to direct the relevant activities of an entity and
affect the returns the Group will receive as a result of its
involvement with the entity. In assessing control, potential voting
rights that are currently exercisable or convertible are taken into
account. The financial statements of subsidiaries are included in
the consolidated financial statements from the date that control
commences until the date that control ceases.
Alternative performance measures
In the analysis of the Group's
financial performance, certain information disclosed in the
financial statements may be prepared on a non-GAAP basis or has
been derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but
are not themselves an expressly permitted GAAP measure. These
measures are reported in line with the way in which financial
information is analysed by management and designed to increase
comparability of the Group's year-on-year financial position, based
on its operational activity. The key alternative performance
measures presented by the Group are:
· Underlying
profit: which is defined as profit
for the year before share-based payments charges (including the
related National Insurance and appropriate tax
adjustments);
· Underlying operating
profit: which is defined as
operating profit before share-based payments charges (including the
related National Insurance);
· Underlying basic earnings
per share (EPS): which is defined as
underlying profit divided by the weighted average number of
ordinary shares outstanding during the period;
· Underlying
costs: which is defined as
administrative expenses before share-based payments charges
(including the related National Insurance); and
· Underlying operating
margin: which is defined as the
underlying operating profit as a percentage of revenue.
The Directors believe that these
alternative performance measures provide a more appropriate measure
of the Group's business performance, as share-based payments are a
non-cash charge that is not entirely driven by the principal
operational activity of the Group. The Directors therefore consider
underlying operating profit to be the most appropriate indicator of
the performance of the business and year-on-year trends.
A reconciliation of the
underlying performance measures to the GAAP measures are shown
below:
Underlying profit
A reconciliation of the profit
for the year to the underlying profit is presented
below:
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Profit for the year
|
199,151
|
195,681
|
Share-based incentives
charge
|
5,886
|
4,179
|
NI on share-based
incentives
|
651
|
(110)
|
Impact on tax charge
|
(1,008)
|
(999)
|
Underlying profit
|
204,680
|
198,751
|
Underlying profit is used instead of
profit to calculate the underlying basic earnings per share, which
is underlying profit divided by the weighted average number of
ordinary shares in issue for the period, whereas earnings per share
is profit for the year divided by weighted average number of
ordinary shares in issue for the period.
Underlying operating profit
A reconciliation of the operating
profit to the underlying operating profit is presented
below:
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Operating profit
|
258,033
|
241,343
|
Share-based incentives
charge
|
5,886
|
4,179
|
NI on share-based
incentives
|
651
|
(110)
|
Underlying operating profit
|
264,570
|
245,412
|
Underlying operating profit is used
to calculate the underlying operating margin: which is underlying
operating profit as a proportion of revenue, whereas the operating
margin calculated as operating profit as a proportion of
revenue.
Underlying costs
A reconciliation of the
administrative expenses to the underlying costs is presented
below:
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Administration expenses
|
106,283
|
91,279
|
Share-based incentives
charge
|
(5,886)
|
(4,179)
|
NI on share-based
incentives
|
(651)
|
110
|
Underlying costs
|
99,746
|
87,210
|
Going concern
The Directors have performed a
detailed going concern review and tested the Group's liquidity in a
range of scenarios, as set out below.
Throughout the period, the Group was
debt-free, remained highly cash generative and had a cash balance
of £33.6m and money market deposits of £5.2m at 31 December 2023
(31 December 2022: cash balance of £35.1m and money market
deposits of £5.0m).
The Group bought back shares to the
value of £130.0m during the period (2022: £130.0m) and paid
dividends totalling £71.7m in May and October 2023 (2022:
£67.7m).
In reaching its assessment on going
concern, the Directors have used the most recent Board approved
forecasts for the Group for the period to 30 June 2025 ("the going
concern period"), which have been modelled to reflect the expected
impact of current economic conditions on trading, as set out in
these financial statements.
In stress testing the future cash
flows of the Group, the Directors modelled a range of scenarios
which considered the effect on the Group of reductions of varying
severity in the number of housing transactions for the period to 30
June 2025 and modelled the likely timing of cashflows from our
customers during the going concern period.
These included severe but plausible
downside scenarios that are considered to pose the greatest threat
to the business model and future performance of the Group, such as:
an economic shock, increased competition and new disruptive
technologies, or a cyber threat. The model considered the
impact of changes in the key drivers of the Group's revenues,
including customer numbers and average revenue per advertiser
(ARPA) - one scenario being a 30% reduction in revenue,
irrespective of cause. Cost assumptions were also considered in
each of the severe but plausible scenarios, including an increase
in marketing costs and IT costs, employee recruitment and retention
costs, and higher spend on innovation and protection of the
platform. The scenarios were stress tested individually and in
combination. In all combinations of the scenarios tested, the Group
remained cash positive and debt-free.
The Directors also reviewed the
results of a reverse stress test, which was undertaken to provide
an illustration of the scenario required to exhaust cash balances.
The possibility of this scenario arising was assessed to be highly
remote and could arise only in extreme circumstances, much more
severe than the scenarios modelled above.
The Directors are confident that the
Group will remain cash positive and will have sufficient funds to
continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least the
period to 30 June 2025 and have therefore prepared the financial
statements on a going concern basis.
Judgements and estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial
statements in accordance with UK Adopted International accounting
standards and the requirements of Companies Act 2006 requires
management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that
affect the application of accounting policies and the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. The
estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical
experience, and various other factors that are believed to be
reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the
basis of making judgements about carrying values of assets and
liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources.
Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing
basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the
period in which the estimate is revised and in any future periods,
if applicable.
Management has determined that there are no areas of estimation
uncertainty that have a significant risk of resulting in a material
adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within
the next financial year or critical judgements in applying
accounting policies that have a significant effect on the amounts
recognised in the consolidated and Company financial
statements.
2 Significant accounting policies
New
and revised standards and interpretations
There were no new standards adopted
by the group that had a material impact during the year.
The IASB have issued a number of
amendments to IFRS that become mandatory in the period:
· IAS 1
regarding accounting policies
· IFRS
17 in relation to accounting for insurance contracts;
· IAS 8
amendment to the definition of accounting estimates;
· IAS
12 amendments in relation to deferred tax
related to assets and liabilities arising from a single
transaction, including leases and the
impact of Pillar Two Model Rules,
Except for IAS 1, these amendments
are either not applicable or have only an immaterial impact on the
Group. The Group is not in scope for Pillar Two rules, as it does
not meet the threshold of annual revenue of 750 million Euros and
therefore the amendment to IAS12 in relation to Pillar Two has no
impact.
The Group has evaluated further
amendments to IFRS that become mandatory in subsequent periods and
assessed that there are no standards that are issued, but not yet
effective, that would be expected to have a material impact on the
Group in the current or future reporting periods nor on foreseeable
future transactions.
3
Revenue
The Group's operations and main
revenue streams are those described in the annual financial
statements. The Group's revenue is derived from contracts with
customers.
Disaggregation of
revenue
In the following table, revenue is
disaggregated by property and non-property advertising revenue. The
table also includes a reconciliation of the disaggregated revenue
with the Group's business units.
Year ended
31
December 2023
|
Agency
|
New Homes
|
Other
|
Total
|
£000
|
£000
|
£000
|
£000
|
Revenue stream
|
|
|
|
|
Property products
|
261,954
|
66,447
|
18,877
|
347,278
|
Non-property products
|
-
|
-
|
17,038
|
17,038
|
|
261,954
|
66,447
|
35,915
|
364,316
|
Year ended
31 December 2022
|
Agency
|
New
Homes
|
Other
|
Total
|
£000
|
£000
|
£000
|
£000
|
Revenue stream
|
|
|
|
|
Property products
|
247,310
|
52,588
|
17,254
|
317,152
|
Non-property products
|
-
|
-
|
15,470
|
15,470
|
|
247,310
|
52,588
|
32,724
|
332,622
|
Geographic information
In presenting information geographically, revenue
and assets reflect the physical location of customers.
|
2023
|
2022
|
Group
|
Revenue
£000
|
Trade receivables
£000
|
Revenue
£000
|
Trade
receivables
£000
|
UK
|
358,470
|
24,480
|
327,188
|
20,880
|
Rest of the world
|
5,846
|
11
|
5,434
|
29
|
|
364,316
|
24,491
|
332,622
|
20,909
|
Contract
balances
The contract assets primarily relate
to the Group's rights to consideration for services provided but
not invoiced at the reporting date. The contract assets are
transferred to trade receivables when invoiced and the rights have
become unconditional.
The contract liabilities primarily
relate to the advance consideration received from Agency, Overseas
and Commercial customers, for which revenue is recognised as or
when the services are provided.
The following table provides
information about contract assets and contract liabilities from
contracts with customers:
|
Contract
assets
£000
|
Contract
liabilities
£000
|
Contract balances as at 31 December 2021
|
120
|
(2,633)
|
Performance obligations satisfied in
2021
|
(120)
|
|
Performance obligations satisfied in
2022
|
|
2,623
|
Accrued/(deferred) during
2022
|
454
|
(2,315)
|
Contract balances as at 31 December 2022
|
454
|
(2,325)
|
Performance obligations satisfied in
2022
Performance obligations satisfied in
2023
Accrued/(deferred) during
2023
|
(454)
-
759
|
-
2,114
(2,325)
|
Contract balances as at 31 December
2023
|
759
|
(2,536)
|
4
Operating profit
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Operating profit is stated after charging:
|
|
|
Employee benefits
|
54,544
|
45,474
|
Depreciation of property, plant and
equipment
|
3,424
|
3,504
|
Amortisation of
intangibles
|
1,560
|
1,082
|
Trade receivables impairment
charge
|
1,712
|
733
|
Auditor's remuneration
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Fees payable to the auditor in respect of the
audit
|
|
|
Audit of the Company's financial
statements
|
55
|
140
|
Audit of the Company's
subsidiaries pursuant to legislation
|
345
|
310
|
Total audit remuneration
|
400
|
450
|
Fees payable to the Company's auditor in respect of non-audit
related services
|
|
|
Half year review of the condensed
financial statements
|
40
|
40
|
All other services
|
-
|
10
|
Total non-audit remuneration
|
40
|
50
|
There were no other fees payable to
Ernst & Young LLP (2022: no other fees
payable).
5
Earnings per share (EPS)
|
|
Pence per
share
|
|
£000
|
Basic
|
Diluted
|
Year ended 31 December 2023
Profit for the year and
EPS
Underlying profit and
underlying EPS
|
199,151
204,680
|
24.5
25.2
|
24.4
25.1
|
|
|
|
|
Year ended 31 December
2022
Profit for the year and EPS
Underlying profit and underlying EPS
|
195,681
198,751
|
23.4
23.8
|
23.4
23.7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
(basic)
|
2023
Number of shares
|
2022
Number of shares
|
Issued ordinary shares at
1 January less ordinary shares held by the EBT and SIP
Trust
|
835,094,530
|
857,732,814
|
Less own shares held in treasury at
the beginning of the year
|
(12,185,222)
|
(12,480,472)
|
Weighted effect of own shares
purchased for cancellation
|
(9,991,531)
|
(9,977,584)
|
Weighted effect of share-based
incentives exercised
|
433,805
|
144,448
|
Weighted effect of shares
purchased
|
(14,726)
|
(99,344)
|
Issued ordinary shares at 31
December less ordinary shares held by treasury, SIP and the
EBT
|
813,336,856
|
835,319,862
|
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (diluted)
In calculating diluted EPS, the weighted average
number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion
of all potentially dilutive shares. The Group's potentially
dilutive instruments are in respect of share-based incentives
granted to employees.
|
2023
Number of shares
|
2022
Number of shares
|
Weighted average number of ordinary
shares (basic)
|
813,336,856
|
835,319,862
|
Dilutive impact of share-based
incentives outstanding
|
2,002,000
|
2,185,506
|
|
815,338,856
|
837,505,368
|
The average market value of the
Group's shares for the purposes of calculating the dilutive effect
of share-based incentives was based on quoted market prices during
the period which the share-based incentives were
outstanding.
6
Dividends
Dividends declared and paid by the
Company were as follows:
|
2023
|
2022
|
|
Pence per
share
|
£000
|
Pence
per share
|
£000
|
2021 final dividend paid
2022 interim dividend
paid
2022 final dividend paid
2023 interim dividend
paid
|
-
-
5.2
3.6
|
-
-
42,588
29,084
|
4.8
3.3
-
-
|
40,312
27,393
|
|
8.8
|
71,672
|
8.1
|
67,705
|
Unclaimed
dividends returned
|
-
|
(21)
|
-
|
(26)
|
Net dividends included in the
statement of cash flows
|
-
|
71,651
|
-
|
67,679
|
After the reporting date, a final
dividend of 5.7p (2022: 5.2p) per qualifying ordinary share,
being £45,330,000 (2022: £42,911,000), was proposed by the Board of Directors. The final dividend will
be paid, subject to shareholder approval, on 24
May 2024.
The 2022 final dividend of
£42,588,000 (5.2p per qualifying share) was paid on 26 May 2023. It
was £323,000 lower than that reported in the 2022 annual accounts
due to a decrease in the ordinary shares entitled to a dividend
between 2 March 2023 and the final dividend record date of 28 April
2023.
The 2023 interim dividend paid on 27
October 2023 was £29,084,000, being £216,000 lower than that
reported in the 2023 Half Year report of £29,300,000. This was due
to a decrease in the number of ordinary shares entitled to a
dividend between 30 June 2023 and the interim dividend record date
of 29 September 2023.
The terms of the EBT provide that
dividends payable on the ordinary shares held by the EBT are
waived. No provision was made for the final dividend in either
year, and there are no income tax consequences.
7
Income tax expense
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Current tax expense
|
|
|
Current year
|
61,324
|
46,041
|
Adjustment to current tax charge in
respect of prior years
|
149
|
102
|
|
61,473
|
46,143
|
Deferred tax
|
|
|
Origination and reversal of
temporary differences
|
(455)
|
(195)
|
Adjustment to deferred tax in
respect of prior years
|
(324)
|
(85)
|
Increase in tax rate at which
deferred tax is being recognised
|
(76)
|
(262)
|
|
(855)
|
(542)
|
Total income tax expense
|
60,618
|
45,601
|
Income tax recognised directly in equity
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Current tax
|
|
|
Share-based incentives
|
(30)
|
(28)
|
|
|
|
Deferred tax
Share-based incentives
|
(95)
|
1,180
|
Increase in tax rate at which
deferred tax is being recognised
|
(8)
|
68
|
|
(103)
|
1,248
|
Total income tax (charge)/credit recognised directly in
equity
|
(133)
|
1,220
|
Reconciliation of effective tax rate
The Group's consolidated
effective tax rate for the year ended 31 December 2023 is
23.3% (2022: 18.9%) which is lower than (2022: lower than) the
standard rate of corporation tax in the UK due to the items shown
below:
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Profit before tax
|
259,769
|
241,282
|
Current tax at 23.5% (2022: 19.0%)
|
61,098
|
45,844
|
Increase in tax rate at which
deferred tax is being provided
|
(76)
|
(262)
|
(Non-taxable income)/net
non-deductible expenses
|
(44)
|
16
|
Adjustment to deferred tax charge in
respect of prior years
|
(324)
|
(85)
|
Share-based incentives
|
(167)
|
-
|
Adjustment to current tax charge in
respect of prior years
|
149
|
102
|
Difference between the current and
deferred tax rates
|
(18)
|
(14)
|
|
60,618
|
45,601
|
Factors affecting future tax charge
The increase in the UK corporation
rate from 19% to 25% was effective 1 April 2023 (substantively
enacted on 24 May 2021). This has increased the Company's
future current tax charge accordingly. The deferred tax at 31
December 2023 has been calculated based on these rates, reflecting
the expected timing of reversal of the related temporary
differences.
8
Trade and other receivables
Group
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Trade receivables
|
25,740
|
21,754
|
Less provision for impairment of
trade receivables
|
(1,249)
|
(845)
|
Net trade receivables
|
24,491
|
20,909
|
Prepayments
|
6,259
|
5,243
|
Interest receivable
|
405
|
48
|
Other debtors
|
319
|
414
|
|
31,474
|
26,614
|
9
Trade and other payables
|
2023
£000
|
2022
£000
|
Trade payables
|
2,057
|
1,155
|
Trade accruals
|
7,662
|
6,147
|
Other creditors
|
1,510
|
1,284
|
Other taxation and social
security
|
13,508
|
12,288
|
|
24,737
|
20,874
|
10
Share capital
|
2023
|
2022
|
|
Amount
£000
|
Number of
shares
|
Amount
£000
|
Number
of
Shares
|
In
issue ordinary shares
At 1 January
|
838
|
837,401,085
|
860
|
859,678,232
|
Purchase and cancellation of
shares
|
(24)
|
(23,951,466)
|
(22)
|
(22,277,147)
|
At 31 December
|
814
|
813,449,619
|
838
|
837,401,085
|
All issued shares are fully paid.
The nominal value of a share is 0.1p. The holders of ordinary
shares are entitled to receive dividends as declared from time to
time and are entitled to one vote per ordinary share at general
meetings of the Company. Included within shares in issue at
31 December 2023 are 1,029,919 (2022: 1,375,963) shares
held by the EBT, 1,167,227 (2022: 930,592) shares held by the SIP
and 11,709,197 (2022: 12,185,222) shares held in
Treasury.
In June 2007, the Company
commenced a share buyback program to purchase its own ordinary
shares. The total number of shares bought back in 2023 was
23,951,466 (2022: 22,277,147) shares representing 2.9%
(2022: 2.7%) of the ordinary shares in issue
(excluding shares held in treasury). All the shares bought back in
both years were cancelled. The shares were acquired on the open
market at a total consideration (excluding costs) of £130,000,000
(2022: £129,981,000). The maximum and minimum prices paid were
£5.97 (2022: £6.89) and £4.73 (2022: £4.39) per share
respectively. The average price paid was £5.43 (2022: £5.83).
Costs incurred on purchase of own shares in relation to stamp duty
charges and broker expenses for share buy backs were £910,000
(2022: £910,000). Costs incurred on purchase of own shares in
relation to stamp duty charges and broker expenses for the SIP
award were £12,000 (2022: £23,000).
11 Reconciliation of movement in capital and reserves
Own
shares held - £000
|
EBT shares
reserve
£000
|
SIP shares
reserve
£000
|
Treasury
shares
£000
|
Total
£000
|
Own shares held as at 1 January
2022
|
(1,552)
|
(4,107)
|
(5,929)
|
(11,588)
|
Shares purchased for share incentive
plans
|
(2,216)
|
(682)
|
-
|
(2,898)
|
Shares transferred to SIP
|
555
|
(555)
|
-
|
-
|
Share-based incentives exercised in
the year
|
56
|
289
|
140
|
485
|
SIP releases in the year
|
-
|
103
|
-
|
103
|
Own shares held as at 31 December
2022
|
(3,157)
|
(4,952)
|
(5,789)
|
(13,898)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Own
shares held as at 1 January 2023
|
(3,157)
|
(4,952)
|
(5,789)
|
(13,898)
|
Shares purchased for share incentive
plans
|
(725)
|
(1,273)
|
-
|
(1,998)
|
Shares transferred to SIP
|
725
|
(725)
|
-
|
-
|
Share-based incentives exercised in
the year
|
1,297
|
557
|
230
|
2,084
|
SIP releases in the year
|
-
|
72
|
-
|
72
|
Own
shares held as at 31 December 2023
|
(1,860)
|
(6,321)
|
(5,559)
|
(13,740)
|
Own
shares held - number of shares
|
EBT shares
reserve
|
SIP shares
reserve
|
Treasury
shares
|
Total
|
Own shares held as at 1 January
2022
|
1,158,418
|
787,000
|
12,480,472
|
14,425,890
|
Shares purchased for share incentive
plans
|
432,254
|
128,774
|
-
|
561,028
|
Shares transferred to SIP
|
(99,476)
|
99,476
|
-
|
-
|
Share-based incentives exercised in
the year
|
(115,233)
|
(63,893)
|
(295,250)
|
(474,376)
|
SIP releases in the year
|
-
|
(20,765)
|
-
|
(20,765)
|
Own shares held as at 31 December
2022
|
1,375,963
|
930,592
|
12,185,222
|
14,491,777
|
Own
shares held as at 1 January 2023
|
1,375,963
|
930,592
|
12,185,222
|
14,491,777
|
Shares purchased for share incentive
plans
|
127,240
|
226,335
|
-
|
353,575
|
Shares transferred to SIP
|
(127,240)
|
127,240
|
-
|
-
|
Share-based incentives exercised in
the year
|
(346,044)
|
(104,740)
|
(476,025)
|
(926,809)
|
SIP releases in the year
|
-
|
(12,200)
|
-
|
(12,200)
|
Own
shares held as at 31 December 2023
|
1,029,919
|
1,167,227
|
11,709,197
|
13,906,343
|
(a)
EBT shares reserve
This reserve represents the cost of
own shares acquired by the EBT less any exercises of share-based
incentives.
At 31 December 2023, the
EBT held 1,029,919 (2022: 1,375,963) ordinary shares in the
Company, representing 0.1% (2022: 0.2%) of the ordinary shares
in issue (excluding shares held in treasury). The market value of
the shares held in the EBT at 31 December 2023 was
£5,928,000 (2022: £7,031,000).
(b)
SIP shares reserve
In November 2014, the Company
established the Rightmove Share Incentive Plan Trust (SIP). This
reserve represents the cost of acquiring shares less any exercises
or releases of SIP awards. Employees of Rightmove Group Limited and
Rightmove plc were offered 600 free shares with effect from 20
December 2023 (2022: 500), subject to a three-year service period.
During the year 104,740 shares were exercised (2022: 63,893) and
12,200 shares (2022: 20,765) were released by the SIP in relation
to good leavers and retirees. 127,240 shares were transferred
to the SIP reserve from the EBT (2022: 99,476).
At 31 December 2023, the
SIP held 1,167,227 (2022: 930,592) ordinary shares in the Company,
representing 0.1% (2022: 0.1%) of the ordinary shares in issue
(excluding shares held in treasury). The market value of the shares
held in the SIP at 31 December 2023 was £6,718,000 (2022:
£4,755,000).
(c)
Treasury shares
This represents the cost of
acquiring shares held in treasury less any exercises of share-based
incentives. These shares were bought in 2008 at an average price of
47.60 pence and may be used to satisfy certain share-based
incentive awards. At 31 December 2023, the Treasury held 11,709,197
of the ordinary shares in issue. The market value of the shares
held in treasury at 31 December 2023 was £67,398,000 (2022:
£62,266,000).
Other reserves
Other
reserves of £480,000 (2022: £456,000) represents the Capital
Redemption Reserve in respect of own shares bought back and
cancelled. The movement of £24,000 (2022: £22,000) is the
nominal value of ordinary shares bought back and cancelled during
the year.
Retained earnings
The loss on the exercise of
share-based incentives of £1,562,000 (2022: £106,000) is the
difference between the weighted average value that the own shares,
held individually by the EBT, SIP and treasury, were originally
acquired at and the exercise price at which share-based incentives
were exercised or released during the year.
12 Share-based payments
The Group operates share-based
incentive schemes for executive directors and employees.
All share-based
incentives are subject to service conditions. Such conditions are
not taken into account in the fair value of the service received.
The fair value of services received in return for share-based
incentives is measured by reference to the fair value of
share-based incentives granted. The estimate of the fair value of
the share-based incentives is measured using either the Monte Carlo
or Black Scholes pricing model as is most appropriate for each
scheme. National insurance is being accrued, where
applicable, at a rate of 13.8%, which management expects to be the
prevailing rate when the awards are exercised, based on the share
price at the reporting date.
The Group recognised a total
share-based payments charge for the year of £5,886,000 (2022:
£4,179,000) The NI charge for the year, relating to all awards, was
£651,000 (2022: a credit of £110,000).
13
Subsequent events
On
1 February 2024, the Group acquired 100% equity capital and voting
rights of HomeViews Platform Limited (HomeViews) for cash
consideration of £8m. HomeViews is the UK's biggest community
of verified resident reviews of property developments, with a
particular focus on the build to rent sector.
Due to the timing of the acquisition
being after 31 December 2023, the results of HomeViews are not
included in our financial statement for the year ended 31 December
2023 and the acquisition accounting has not yet been completed. In
line with IFRS 3, the price accounting for the acquisition will be
finalised within 12 months of the acquisition date.
Other than the above transaction,
there were no other subsequent events, between the 31 December 2023
and the reporting date.
ADVISERS AND SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Contacts
|
|
Registered office
|
Corporate advisers
|
Chief Executive
Officer:
|
Johan Svanstrom
|
Rightmove plc
|
Financial adviser
|
Chief Financial Officer:
Company Secretary:
Website:
|
Alison Dolan
Carolyn Pollard
https://plc.rightmove.co.uk
|
2 Caldecotte Lake
Business Park
Caldecotte Lake Drive
|
UBS Investment Bank
Joint brokers
|
|
|
Milton Keynes
|
UBS AG London Branch
|
|
|
MK7 8LE
|
Numis Securities Limited
|
|
|
Registered in
|
Auditor
|
|
|
England no. 06426485
|
Ernst & Young LLP
|
|
|
|
Bankers
|
Financial calendar 2024
|
|
|
Barclays Bank plc
|
2023 full year results
Final dividend record
date
|
1 March 2024
26 April 2024
|
|
Santander UK plc
HSBC UK Bank plc
Lloyds Banking Group plc
|
Annual General Meeting
Final dividend payment
Half year results
|
10 May 2024
24 May 2024
26 July 2024
|
|
Solicitors
EMW LLP
|
|
|
|
Linklaters LLP
|
|
|
|
Herbert Smith Freehills
LLP
|
|
|
|
Registrar
|
|
|
|
Link Asset
Services(1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) Shareholder
enquiries
The Company's registrar is Link
Group. They will be pleased to deal with any questions regarding
your shareholding or dividends. Please notify them of your change
of address or other personal information. Their contact details
are:
Shareholder helpline:
0371 664 0300 calls are charged at the standard
geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United
Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international rate. Lines
are open between 09:00 - 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public
holidays in England and Wales.
Email: shareholderenquiries@linkgroup.co.uk
Signal Shares shareholder
portal:
www.signalshares.com
Address: Link Group
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1 4DL
Shareholders can register online to
view your holdings using the shareholder portal, a service offered
by Link Group at www.signalshares.com.
The shareholder portal is an online service enabling you to quickly
and easily access and maintain your shareholding online - reducing
the need for paperwork and providing 24 hour access for your
convenience. You may:
- View your holding balance and
get an indicative valuation
- View the dividend payments
you have received
- Cast your proxy vote on the
AGM resolutions online
- Update your
address
- Register and change bank
mandate instructions so that dividends can be paid directly to your
bank account
- Elect to receive shareholder
communications electronically
- Access a wide range of
shareholder information and download shareholder forms