The Independent Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended OnTheMarket shareholders to vote for the acquisition of the firm by CoStar.
OnTheMarket is a property search website that shows thousands of properties for sale or rent. This includes UK residential properties and overseas properties sales and commercial UK properties.
The OnTheMarket board recommended the proposed CoStar acquisition due to the attractive valuation of 110 pence per share.
The firm added that CoStar was seeking create the “number one agent-friendly UK residential property portal and a genuine disruptor to the established market leaders”.
“The level of investment CoStar intends to deploy represents a material acceleration of OnTheMarket’s existing strategy in this regard,” OnTheMarket continued.
The company said that CoStar was “committed to maintaining fair and sustainable pricing for agents” and planned to continue charging agents a small proportion of Rightmove’s current charges.
OnTheMarket added that CoStar would invest in growing traffic to the portal, which would benefit agent clients.
The company added that CoStar expected senior management to “continue to contribute” to the firm’s success and “does not intend to initiate any material headcount reductions”.
The vote is due to be held on 4 December.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
