Mortgage revenue more than doubles year-on-year – is this bad news for brokers?
In eye-catching news for mortgage brokers, Rightmove, the UK’s largest property portal, posted a 7% increase in revenue for 2024, driven by estate agents and new home developers increasing their use of digital services.
However, overall operating profit dipped by 1% due to one-off transaction-related costs of £9.2 million, despite underlying operating profit rising 4% and maintaining a 70% margin.
Of particular note for brokers was that revenue from its mortgage segment more than doubled year-on-year to £4.7 million, generating over £24 billion in potential lending for partners.
The company announced a final dividend of 6.1p per share, marking a 7% increase from 2023, with total dividends for the year reaching 9.8p, up 5%. Rightmove returned £181.7 million to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, ending 2024 with £41.3 million in cash reserves, slightly up from £38.8 million the previous year.
Rightmove also continues to push growth across multiple areas. In commercial property, it introduced major interface updates and attracted over 150 new partners, capturing more than 60% of consumer engagement in the sector. Its rental services division signed up over 500 partners for its Lead to Keys solution, with a third of them new to the platform.
Together, commercial property, rental services, and financial services or mortgages accounted for 20% of the Rightmove’s total revenue growth, the company said in its full-year results announcement.
“We delivered strong results, demonstrating yet again the resilience of Rightmove’s business model,” said Johan Svanstrom (pictured), chief executive at Rightmove. “We’re continuing to invest in technology and products to make the platform even more useful and effective for both partners and consumers.
“We have a clear strategy to further digitise the home moving market, powered by the UK’s largest set of property data and insights. There is a long runway of opportunity to both broaden and deepen Rightmove’s services on one connected platform, and our team is continuing to drive that momentum in 2025.”
Despite its dominant position in the UK property market, Rightmove faces increasing competition, particularly following CoStar’s acquisition of rival portal OnTheMarket. The company also had to fend off multiple takeover attempts by the Rupert Murdoch-backed REA Group, which abandoned its pursuit after Rightmove’s board rejected a £6.2 billion offer.
Industry analysts, including Charlie Huggins of Wealth Club, have noted that the company must prioritise innovation rather than rely on price increases for future growth.
“Rightmove still retains a very dominant position,” Huggins commented. “It also has enormously valuable data which offers opportunities to deliver further customer value. However, with CoStar snapping at its heels, it certainly cannot afford to rest on its laurels.”
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