All you wanted to know about Boomin but were afraid to ask

Published 2nd of July, 2022

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What is Boomin?

Boomin is a new property portal which claims to be the most powerful property site ever and one which will transform the property market for everyone. Boomin was founded by Michael and Kenny Bruce, the founders of Purplebricks. Their ambition is simple, to put the cat amongst the pigeons in the property portal world just as they did with Purplebricks in the world of estate agency. But can Boomin disrupt the property portal market without disrupting estate agents as well?

Powerful New Property Site

Boomin claims to be the most powerful property site ever. It is early days in the life of the new portal, but you can judge these claims yourself by visiting the site itself by clicking on the button below:

Boomin 

 

Transforming the UK Property Market

Boomin claims that it will transform the property for everyone. Boomin's promotional video says it is a site that will bring about to bring a sense of optimism, positivity, kinetic energy and excitement that is memorable and likeable.

We are not sure how they will bring kinetic energy into the mix unless they are going to specialise in mobile homes or perhaps homes with subsidence. Joking aside the Bruce brothers certainly shook up the estate agency market when they launched Purplebricks and we have no doubt that they will be working hard to challenge Rightmove and Zoopla.

However, it looks as if the site will have more features than portals such as Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket notably: Secret Properties, the Sneak Peak and MatchMaker features as well as seeking to become a go-to destination for utilities and a market-place for all purchases related to the home.


Boomin or bust?

At its launch in April 2021, Boomin was offered free to estate agents until 30 March 2022. Estate agents signing up were given up to one year to use Boomin to assess its value. We estimate that around 8,000 estate agency branches participated in the free trial. 


Boomin crunch time

Ironically, the day of fools, the 1st of April 2022 was crunch time for Boomin, agents who wanted to stay on the platform had to start paying. 

The question on everybody's lips was had Boomin delivered value or was it busted?

We started to get a feel for the success (or not) of Boomin on 8 April when Boomin started to release details of which estate agency firms were Backing Boomin to succeed.

The media playbook being used on paying sign-ups is the same as it was for the number of agencies signing up for the free trial, a drip, drip, drip-feed, a few at a time, keeping us guessing and keeping the column inches coming.

In the first tranche of ten (which led some wags to suggest that 7,990 had not signed up) were many big hitters:

Acorn – around 40 branches across London and the South East
Andrews Residential – 2 branches in west London
Balgores – 12 branches in Essex and Kent
Chancellors – 57 branches in Southern England, London and Mid Wales
Douglas & Gordon- 18 branches in London
Foxtons – around 50 branches in London
Hammond & Stratford – 5 branches in Norfolk
Keatons – 9 branches in London
Martyn Gerrard – 10 branches in North London
Pacitti Jones – 9 Branches in Glasgow and West Scotland

If we sum up total branches so far we have 212 paying branches. Some might point out that this is only 2.65% of 8,000, but we mustn’t forget that the Bruce Brothers are very media savvy, and eight of the ten firms mentioned serve London.

So far, we estimate that Boomin has over 150 branches across London and when we remember that the UK housing market is a collection of thousands of local markets, then more than 150 branches in one area (albeit a big one) will start to get noticed, and there could, of course, be more paying customers in London yet to be announced.

As more customers are publicised we will track the regional coverage, but in the land of estate agency, where most firms have one or two branches, we may find that Boomin is blooming in many markets across the country.

Boomin's second wave of agent sign ups

On 13 April 2022 Boomin announced the second tranche of agents who have signed up following the free period. As in the first tranche, the second included a number of influential agents

Franchisees flock to Boomin

On the 27 April Boomin announced a large number of franchised brands had signed up to Boomin and each franchisee who individually signs up will receive an allocation of Boomin founder shares

  • Hunters national estate agency brand c.190 branches
  • Ellis & Co - 16 branches across London, Kent, Middlesex
  • Parkers - 16 branches in and around Berkshire 
  • Whitegates 34 branches across Merseyside, Yorkshire and the West Midlands
  • Martin & Co - national chain c.150 branches
  • Mullucks - Bishops Stortford, Epping and Saffron Walden
  • Country Properties - 15 branches across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
  • RE/MAX - 15 branches across London
  • Belvoir - National chain with around 160 branches
  • Newton Fallowell - 39 offices around the East and West Midlands
  • Newman - hybrid agent with around 30 agents  
  • The Agency UK - hybrid agent with around 50 agents
  • Lovelle - 16 offices in Lincolnshire and the Humber 
  • easyProperty - hybrid agent operating across 16 territories


Boomin's third wave of agent sign ups

On 24th May another tranch of Boomin's paying agents were announced, which we estimate added a further 169 branches to the numbers already announced. 

Is Boomin going bust?

On 1 July 2022 Boomin announced that it was in the process of reducing 'excess headcount'. In a letter to estate agents reproduced in Property Industry Eye founder Michael Bruce said the headcount was now surplus to requirements following the build and launch of Boomin. 

In our mind, as the newest property portal on the block, Boomin is very much still in its growth phase, so it seems odd to us that it would have a surplus of staff this early on.

However, the letter hinted that economic forces had played a part in the decision:

"Whilst it is fair to say that we would have liked to have retained some people for longer we recognise that in this economic environment we need to invest to deliver the innovation and high levels of customer service you rightly expect from us, whilst also accelerating our path to sustainable profitability."


Boomin only started charging agents in April this year and is still very much in a growth phase, in our view. The reduction in headcount suggests that the growth in paying agents has not kept pace with Boomin's expectations, and perhaps it is a case of a lack of income rather than an excess of staff that is the issue.


The challenge for a network-related business like Boomin is to reach critical mass and some have suggested that Boomin is offering heavy discounts, in its pursuit of critical mass, to encourage agents to stay on its platform, if true this might be a factor in the decision to cut headcount.


To its credit, Boomin is not a 'me too' or common or garden portal, it is seeking to offer services that other portals are not. However, Boomin faces a big challenge to get the message across to home buyers that it is different and why these differences matter.

Boomin, it is not the only portal to be cutting back on staff, last month Zoopla announced that a number of staff were at risk of redundancy.

So is Boomin bust or is it cutting its coat according to its cloth? We suspect the latter rather than the former. However, the race is on for Boomin to convince the homebuying public that it is the iPhone of property portals, the thing they didn't know they needed until they used it. If they don't succeed the headwinds it currently faces will grow stronger.

Boomin: Follow the money?

The theme running throughout the iconic box set 'The Wire' (if you haven't watched it, watch it - and you'll thank us) is follow the money and what was good advice for the Baltimore PD is probably good advice for us too.

So let us not forget that according to reports in the media, most notably Sky News, Boomin has also just raised around £20m to fund the next stage of growth, and we doubt that investors would have backed Boomin at this stage if they thought it was busted rather than Booming.

One press release does not make a successful business, but the first one about paying customers has piqued my interest. As ever, the property portal market and the UK housing market are rarely dull.



Boomin online valuation tool

on 20 July 2021 Boomin announced the launch of its latest product an online valuation tool, which it claims will be 'the most interactive and accurate online valuation tool on the market.' Homeowners will be able to request an online valuation from estate agents registered with Boomin. Boomin will pass all the information it believes the agent needs to perform a valuation and once the agent's valuation has been submitted they will receive the homeowners contact details. 

It seems that an agent will only have a limited time to respond to the valuation request before they lose the chance to supply a valuation and the opportunity is passed to another agent.

We understand that the valuation tool will be heavily featured as part of Boomin's September 2021 marketing campaign.

For an instant valuation from Twindig click on the link below

How much is your home worth?

 

Boomin ChainMaker

What is Boomin ChainMaker? 

Boomin's ChainMaker is a tool that allows a homebuyer to register an interest in a home or property that is already Sold Subject To Contract (SSTC). It is easy to assume that when a home is Sold Subject to Contract it has been taken off the market.  However, technically an agent is employed by the homeowner to secure the best terms for a transaction as they possibly can. This can mean many things- for instance, the highest price or the quickest sale. 

Much to the frustration of buyers up and down the country, a home isn't legally sold until keys have been handed over and gazumping can often occur up to the point of exchange of contracts, and technically after that too.

What are the benefits of Boomin ChainMaker?

In theory, ChainMaker should help an estate agent do their job as it could increase the demand for a home and therefore help the agent secure a higher price or a quicker sale.  An estate agent is duty-bound to act in the best interests of their client (traditionally the homeseller) and should be keeping buyers warm and drumming up demand until the sales has completed. The Chainmaker should assist an estate agent keep other buyers warm and potentially introduce new buyers for a property whilst it is in the hazy stage of SSTC (sold, but not sold).

Doesn't OnTheMarket also offer cChainMaker?

OnTheMarket offers a similar tool called Reverse Buyers which invites buyers to register for properties that are Under oOffer and therefore equip agents with a list of potential purchasers should a sale fall through. Under Offer  has a similar meaning to Sold Subject To Contract, an offer has been accepted, but the offer is not legally binding. 


How will Boomin's SmartVal work?

Boomin's aim for SmartVal is that it will fill the gap between a fully automated valuation model (AVM) and a traditional physical property valuation.

SmartVal makes a bold claim that customers will be able to request an accurate valuation of their home from a real agent within 60 minutes. Boomin claims SmartBal will "bypass inaccurate digital estimates which are based on historical data without any agent input".

How do I get a SmartVal?

There is a four-stage process:

1. Request a SMartVal by entering property details such as type of house, number of rooms (bedrooms, bathrooms, reception rooms etc) and upload photos of the rooms and choose up to three agents to value the property

2. The chosen agents have just five minutes to accept the SmartVal request and the agent has up to 15 minutes to deliver the valuation

3. Agents receive the data and photos plus some analytical data from Boomin such as comparable live listings and demand or heatmaps showing search activity on Boomin for similar properties

4. The SmartVal is submitted, the agent provides the customer with a valuation range and a suggested asking price. The agent then receives the customer's contact details to arrange a follow up call or visit.


Twindig take on SmartVal 

SmartVal looks to us like a clever lead generation tool. It will however be interesting to see how quickly SmartVal requests made outside of office hours are processed, especially those made early in the morning or late at night. 

It will also be interesting to see how accurate an valuation can be made without talking to the homeowner about their needs such as how quickly they need to move and where they are in their own home moving process.

Some may fear also fear that Boomin's SmartVal might be a trojan horse trying to replace the agent. However, Boomin makes clear that hey see SmartVal a tool to help rather than replace agents. 


Market reaction to Boomin

The Bruce brothers certainly shook up and challenged the high street estate agency market and Purplebricks has overtaken Foxtons as the 'marmite' name in the sector. Having tried to take business from high street estate agents, the Bruce brothers are now seeking to win business from the same high street estate agents.

A survey conducted by Wiggywam in February 2021 revealed that property portals in general (Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket) had a low level of trust and customer satisfaction from agents, and a majority of agencies (55%) saying they will not use the soon-to-launch Boomin.

What are Boomin's Secret properties?

If a property is being valued the agent can list some details of the home on Boomin. There won’t be enough information for homebuyers to be able to identify the exact property – hence a ‘secret property’, but details such as the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, key features and school catchment areas will be available so that buyers can register an interest should the property come to the market.

In our view, this is a clever way to assess demand and registered interest may well help the homeowner to decide to make the leap to put their home on the market.

Twindig’s Find and Follow feature already offers a similar functionality where homebuyers can follow properties they are interested in the same way one follows people on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Claim your FREE monthly home valuation report

What is Boomin's Sneak peek?

Once a Boomin agent has been instructed the agent may offer a sneak peek at the property, a period of up to 14 days before the property is fully listed on the portals allowing Boomin users early access to the property before it is listed more widely on the other main portals such as Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket

In our view, this is similar to OnTheMarket’s new and exclusive where an agent lists new properties exclusively on OnTheMarket for 24 hours before listing on all the other portals.

In both cases, we do not see how this helps the homeowner why if you have decided to sell your home would you choose to limit or restrict the amount of marketing exposure it receives. We can see how this benefits the portal as it creates a captive market and if this captive market reaches a critical mass the portal will be able to monetise agents access to this restrictive marketing service.

What is Boomin MatchMaker?

MatchMaker is a clever idea and is similar to Twindig's Find and Follow feature offered by Twindig. Boomin has created MatchMaker buyers and MatchMaker sellers where buyers and sellers create a sort of property dating profile.

Find and follow any home

MatchMaker buyers

Homebuyers who know where they want to live can create an advert within Boomin to advertise the sort of property they are looking for: location, price range, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, school catchment areas, key features etc. If a home seller wants to meet a MatchMaker buyer then the seller asks their estate agent to introduce them

MatchMaker Sellers  

MatchMaker sellers are homeowners who are thinking of selling and they make an advert about their home to gauge buyer interest. Homebuyers can browse the MatchMaker seller adverts and can contact the seller by contacting the agent chosen by the homeowner.

Twindig already offers a similar property find and follow service. Potential homebuyers can follow any home across the country whether or not they are currently on the market and be notified of changes in the status of that property. Homeowners will be able to see the number of followers they have.

Homeowners can also change the status of their property on the Twindig platform. For instance, they can set their status as thinking of selling to gauge interest and potential buyers are able to see this ‘thinking of selling’ status and can follow that property. With the homeowner’s permission, Twindig would arrange for an agent to facilitate an introduction.

    

From utility switching to homewares

Utility switching

Boomin will also offer utility switching services, which could be quite a lucrative market if Boomin wins the trust of a critical mass of renters and homeowners. The utility switching market remains under-developed in our view. Inertia is the biggest barrier to switching, therefore perhaps the smart money will be with those that offer second-generation auto-switches, rather than the first generation style of price comparison websites.

Homewares

Boomin has been clever here and might be building on research by Zoopla which suggests that around 24% of visitors to its site use the platform as a magazine to keep abreast of design changes/trends in kitchens, living spaces, bedrooms, bathrooms and gardens. Boomin is looking to join those dots: if you see something you like in a home listed on Boomin their aspiration is that you will be just a click away from buying that product for your own home. Once again this is a big ambition and we admire Boomin for setting the bar so high.

Can I use Boomin instead of an estate agent?

Boomin's marketing materials say that:

“Our features have been developed to provide visitors to Boomin with the same deeper insights and market activity they receive when they engage with a great Agent”

There are therefore offering similar services as estate agents such as market insights and property listings and allowing buyers and sellers to test the market via their MatchMaker tools.

However, it does not seem that at the moment Boomin is looking to replace the agent. What we find interesting is that Boomin like Purplebricks is offering tools that allow estate agents to effectively outsource many of their traditional tasks to a technology solution. At some point in the future, these lines may become blurred, however, for the time being, Boomin's founder Michael Bruce has said that Boomin “has not, and will not, ever look to move to a direct model.”

Twindig continues to advise all home buyers and home sellers to use an estate agent.

Following the launch on 2 April 2021 agents again questioned whether Boomin's matchmaker was a trojan horse that would eventually cut out the agent.  

Boomin My Bespoke Room

Boomin recently purchased the Interior design company My Bespoke Room, which offers online interior design consultancy services.

This, in our view, is an interesting move because it capitalises on the fact homeowners, renters and homebuyers spend a lot of time looking at property portals for home design ideas and not just looking for a home to rent or buy.

Boomin, therefore, hopes to help households realise their interior design dreams by providing a one-stop-shop for their interior design needs and hopes to generate some revenue at the same time by providing a product and service to households exactly at the point of their maximum desire.

How does Boomin My Bespoke Room work?

There are four easy steps to use My Bespoke Room. 

1. Complete your online design brief 

2. My Bespoke Room will connect you with a designer to work with you on your design brief /ideas

3. Your My Bespoke Room designer will draw up room designs for you with 2D Visuals, layouts, mood board and a shopping list

4. You complete the process by using your My Bespoke Room personal shopper


Has Boomin moved into the interior design space?

Yes. On 9 June 2022 Boomin announced that it had acquired My Bespoke Room a company which offers online interior design and personal shopping services.

My Bespoke room offers homeowners a range of packages from a mini-styling experience closing £250 to a Complete Design Experience Max costing from £595.

My Bespoke room also offers colour consultancy starting from £195 and spatial planning consultancy services also starting from £195

My Bespoke Room was founded eight years ago by Diana Greenhalgh and Laura Simpson with a view to democratise professional interior design services.

Boomin Strategic Board

On 24 May 21 Boomin announced that Sarah Edmundson had been appointed as the chair of Boomin's strategic board. 

The strategic board aims to be a conduit between Boomin, agents and consumers to increase their participation in the development and strategic direction of Boomin - essentially a mechanism for hearing firsthand what the market wants Boomin to offer.  

Joining Sarah on the Strategic Board are Kenny Bruce, Tom Kirk (Chief Product Officer), Andrew Stewart (Chief Operating Officer) and James Kydd (Brand Director). Kenny Bruce, Tom Kirk and James Kydd all held senior roles at Purplebricks before joining Boomin, whereas Andrew Stewart's is joining from Cazoo although his main experience stems from the property portals of Zoopla and PropertyFinder.com 

Boomin's big-hitting non-exec board

In April 2021 Boomin appointed Stephen Murphy as its non-executive Chairman. Mr Murphy is a former Chief Executive of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Of his appointment, Mr Murphy said: "I have been really impressed by the DNA of the business and the ambition to deliver truly exceptional experiences for agents and everyone engaged in property. I am excited to be working with the founders and the management team to realise the enormous potential that exists with market leading agents, truly innovative technology and a collective ambition to make a genuine difference".  

In May 2021 Boomin appointed the very experienced and highly regarded Richard Pennycook as a non-executive director. Mr Pennycock is a former CEO of the Co-operative Group. He was awarded a CBE in 2020 for services to the retail sector. 

Of his appointment Mr Pennycook said: "“I have experienced first-hand the digital retail revolution and how important it is for every industry to adapt and change, to innovate, to break new ground and to engage and communicate with their customers in a number of different ways". There is no doubt that Mr Pennycook is a very strong addition to the team at Boomin.  

How much does Boomin cost?

Boomin is free to use for home buyers and home sellers. Boomin will seek to earn referral fees if their end users buy products and services through introductions made through Boomin.com

Boomin will also follow the traditional property portal revenue model of charging estate agents to list their properties and charge them additional amounts for marketing services. According to the fee schedule on Boomin.com on 12 December 2020 fees are fixed and guaranteed for Founder Agents until 1 January 2024. The fees have two components: a Base Fee and a Performance Fee.

What is the Boomin Free Period?

Founder Agents will be able to upload unlimited properties to Boomin.com until 1 January 2022 (although we understand that due to the delay to the launch of Boomin the free period will be for twelve months from the launch date).

Boomin was officially launched on 1 April 2021 and so the good news for estate agents is that joining Boomin is free until 31 March 2022, with no long-term commitment.

What are Boomin Base Fees (Per month)?

Boomin's Base Fees are the basics fees which will be charged to estate agents for listing their properties on Boomin.com after the free period

Sales Only: £300 (London £400)

Sales & Lettings £399 (London £499)

Lettings only £150 (London £250)

Whilst during the free period an unlimited number of properties can be uploaded per branch, the number of proper uploads included in the Base Fee will be subject to a cap from September 2021.

Base fees will increase by a maximum of 5% per year from 1 January 2023, but only if Boomin has generated the agent’s business more revenue than the total base fees and performance fees paid to Boomin in the previous year.

What are Boomin Performance Fees?

Boomin Performance Fees are due on revenue generated from Priorities (removals, utilities, broadband, TV subscriptions etc), Property Playground (homewares, designs, kitchens, bathroom etc) and MatchMaker completions.

Revenue per month Performance fee

£0-£249 nil

£250-£299 £20

£300-£399 £40

£400-£549 £50

£550-£624 £75

£625-£724 £100

£725-£799 £125

£800 or more £150

The Boomin fee schedule we have seen does not comment on how these performance fees may rise and by how much. It looks to us as if the price guarantees only relate to the Base fees. Agents may wish to seek clarification on this before signing up.  

However, one thing Michael Bruce is clear about is the trajectory of Boomin fees in the future, he comments: “The future for portals is not one where they can expect to continually raise fees by material amounts year after year”.

What are the Boomin Membership classes?

Boomin Standard – those agents who just send Boomin a normal property portal feed

Boomin Gold – those agents who use the Boomin system, but do not have a CRM Integration with Boomin

Boomin Platinum – those agents with a CRM integration with Boomin are eligible to be a Platinum agent

Lead up to the Boomin launched

The original plan was for a December 2020 launch, but on 11 December 2020, it was announced that the Boomin’s planned December 2020 launch had been delayed until ‘early 2021’. A letter sent from Michael Bruce (Founder and Executive Chairman of Boomin) said that

“Our plans were to launch in December 2020; to create the quality of execution we know is so important to you and us, we have decided that it would be better to publically launch in early 2021. This has the added benefit of giving our people the opportunity to take advantage of the slightly relaxed restrictions by spending precious time with their families.”

This is unusual because Boxing Day is typically one of the busiest traffic days for UK property portals and January is usually a very busy month. You can expect Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket to be spending a lot of marketing dollars from Boxing Day onwards.

There is much speculation as to the cause for the delay ranging from the tech not being ready for launch and running behind schedule to Boomin not having the required number of Founder Agents and property listings to make the launch a success.

On the 5 February 2021 Michael Bruce said that “The time to secure founder agent status and the benefits that brings is fast running out as we enter the final stages of preparation for launch." However, a launch date has yet to be announced, but Boomin is promising a “highly memorable and engaging” media campaign on TV and radio. Boomin's Chief Marketing Officer Phil Lloyd said: “We have brought together more than 12 months of comprehensive national research, planning and creativity to produce an extensive campaign with genuine freshness and excitement.”

On 23rd February 2021 Estate Agent Today reported that Boomin founder Michael Bruce had said  “My team and I are here to answer any questions you have. We’re ready to launch.” However, an official launch date has still yet to be announced.

On 26th February 2021 in an open letter Boomin's founder Michael Bruce reiterated that "Boomin will launch shortly, embracing the latest technology to deliver a completely new, more powerful search experience with a host of new features and a broader product offering that looks to build relationships between agents and customers that lasts far beyond the property transaction itself. This will be supported by a marketing budget that will establish Boomin as a household name in near-record time."

Boomin launch date

After a lot of speculation and a lot of talk, it was finally announced that Boomin will be launched on Friday 2 April 2021, which is Good Friday for some and a day after April Fools' Day for others.

The First Bank Holiday of Spring is a logical date as traditionally it is a time when many start DIY projects in earnest, but with lockdown still in full swing many will either choose or be limited to looking at housing rather than kicking off repairs, improvements and renovations and with the extended Stamp Duty Holiday many will be contemplating moving rather than improving.

In the end Boomin launched a beat site one day early on 1 April 2021 - we will pass on the opportunity to make lame jokes. Boomin launched with around 5,000 agents a number similar to the 4,600 agents OnTheMarket had at its launch in January 2015. This means that Boomin has around 25% of the market in terms of agent numbers, so for the time being the other major portals have more homes listed than Boomin, but Boomin has some interesting new features that the other portals do not have and a big marketing budget (£50 million over three years) to get the message out.

At launch, the Boomin platform is completely free for the first year for all agents, with no obligation to continue once the free year is up. The litmus test will be how many agents stay with the platform one year after joining.

Boomin marketing spend

Boomin has pledged to spend £50m on marketing over the next three years in order 'to create a household brand in record time'. With the three years up on April Fool's day 2024, it will be interesting to see who the fools in the portal world will be: the incumbents, the challenger or the estate agent themselves.

The market and advertising campaign will be executed across a range of channels including Radio, Prime Time TV on Channel4, ITV and Sky, plus the usual plethora of social media channels.

Boomin attacks Rightmove

On 26th February 2021 to coincide with the release of Rightmove's 2020 financial results Boomin published an open letter that criticised Rightmove's regular fee increases, the quality of its customer leads and the level of its investment in its platform, infrastructure and user experience. It also claimed that Rightmove pays its two executive directors more than it spends on capex.

In the letter, Mr Bruce comments that "Being very successful and highly profitable is justifiable when you are creating the very best innovation for agents and visitors to the site." Does this suggest that if Boomin is viewed as creating the best innovation for agents and visitors to the site it will seek to be as profitable as Rightmove?

Agents would do well to understand how the spoils of success will be shared. Will Boomin operate on a platform of 'One for all and all for one' or 'One for a few and all for a few'?

Mr Bruce stepped up his war of words against Rightmove on 8 March 2021. When announcing the launch date of Boomin he said 'We are not just trying to build a credible alternative to Rightmove, we are determined to change the centre of gravity, where more of the power is held by the agents and the rewards will be more equally shared.

Boomin ignores OnTheMarket

Boomin appears not to count OnTheMarket, the last significant challenger portal that was created under the Agents Mutual banner of 'by the agents for the agents' as a competitor. Boomin refers to the existing portal landscape as a duopoly (suggesting Rightmove and Zoopla as the major players) rather than an oligopoly.

Specifically, Mr Bruce comment s that “The portal duopoly is one of the biggest financial and structural challenges agents face and together we can create meaningful change and secure a brighter, fairer future. Boomin has amassed a world-class team, 160 strong and growing to achieve its goals.”

Who are the Boomin Founder Agents?

A Founder Agent is any estate agent who lists all of their branches and stock with Boomin on the official launch day. On 8 March 2021 Boomin revealed that it will launch on 2 April 2021 with more than 5,000 estate agency branches, suggesting a market penetration of around 25%. In our view, this is an impressive reach in such a short space of time and highlights the dissatisfaction many agents feel with the current property portal landscape

Any estate agent who joins after the official launch day will pay a different fee structure to the Founder Agents. The Non-founder agent fee structure has yet to be announced.

On 16 October 2020:  

The original ten Boomin founding agents were announced on 16 October 2020 as:

Foxtons, Chancellors, Andrews, Century 21, Hunters, McEwan Fraser, Dacre, Son & Hartley, Ryder & Dutton, Miller Metcalfe and Mishon Mackay

On 21 October 2020:

Bidmead Cook, Balgores, Cooper & Tanner, Henry Adams, Jacob Steel, Karl Tatler, Miles & Barr, Michael Jones & Company, Kings Group, as well as Linley & Simpson

On 27 October 2020:

Humberts, Newman Property Experts, Beals, Keatons, Hurford Salvi Carr, MyLondonHome, Venmores, Nock Deighton, Alexander & Co Group, and West Wales Properties

On 10 Nov 2020:

It was announced that The Property Franchise Group had become a Boomin Founding Agent

Property Franchise Group brand portfolio signed to Boomin are Martin & Co, Whitegates, CJ Hole, Ellis & Co, Parkers, and EweMove.

On 17 Nov 2020:

Robinson Jackson, Hunter French Somerset, Bonners & Babingtons, Maslen, JOHNS&CO, Penny Lane Homes, Peter Morgan, Hannells Derby, Xact Homes, and Rolfe East 

On 25 Nov 2020:

Carter Jonas, Martyn Gerrard, Urban & Rural, Bond Oxborough Phillips, Hall & Scott, Perry Bishop, Steven Smith, Base Property Specialists, Coopers, Atkinson McCleod, Anthony Pepe, Richard Kendall, Brockenhurst, as well as Scott Sheen and Partners.

On 11 Jan 2021

The first class of 2021 include: Bradleys, Beresfords, Bridges, Seymours, Taylors and Hammond Stratford, Rush Witt & Wilson, Aldreds, Dowen, Andrew Milsom, DJ&P Newland Rennie, Merry Weathers, Redbrik, FirstPort and Richard James.

On 29 Jan 2021

The influential Guild of Property Professionals gave Boomin it's backing. The Guild commented that whilst it gives its “full support to Boomin”, it pointed out that “opinion on Boomin has been divided”, some of the original ten founding agents are members of the Guild.  

Before providing its backing, the Guild said that “Members were concerned about two main areas, namely whether the portal was, in the long term, planning to go directly to consumers cutting out the agent, and who owns the data and how Boomin intends to make use of it.”

Boomin has allayed the Guild's fears and concerns surrounding these issues the Guild is recommending that its members sign up to Boomin.

1 Feb 2021

Unfortunately for Boomin, the soon to be merged Connells and Countrywide announced a 5-year partnership deal with Zoopla to be a Zoopla Innovation Partner with early access to new features and services. This suggests to us that the two largest estate agents in the UK will not be signing up to Boomin in the near future. Boomin would have been very keen to win the backing of the UK's two largest agents.

5 Feb 2021

Another batch of 10 founding agents was announced on the 5 February 2021: Fenn Wright, Killens, Watt & Morgan, Hern & Crabtree, Park Row, Butler & Stag Tatlers, Ellisons, Black Katz and Brian Cox.

8 March 2021 

As already noted above Boomin expects to launch on 2 April 2021 with more than 5,00 0agency branches, but specifically announced new recruits on the 8 March including Greenslade Taylor Hunt, McCartney, Hackney & Leigh and Edward Mellor.

History of Boomin

Boomin is the trading name of PD Innovations Limited (Company number 12090160) a company incorporated on 8 July 2019 and registered in England and Wales

The first public announcement about Boomin came one year later in July 2020 when Michael Bruce revealed a portal project called ‘Launch B’ and hired Reapit CEO Gary Barker to be its first Chief Executive. 

In September 2020 it was announced that Gary Barker would not be taking up the role of CEO at Boomin, the company he left Reapit to join, owing to unforeseen personal family reasons. In February 2021 it was announced that Gary would be joining Connells as CTO to lead the IT development at Connells and aid with the system integration between Connells and Countrywide.

On 16th October 2020 Boomin announced the first ten of its founding estate agents. We list the founding agents as they have been announced in this article. 

On 10th March 2021, Neil Cartwright was appointed a Director of PD Innovations Limited. Mr Cartwright was the Chief Financial Officer of Purplebricks until he stepped down due to ill health on 30 June 2017. 

Boomin's property portal was launched on 2 April 2021, over the Easter weekend.

on 12 April Sky News reported that Boomin had appointed Stephen Murphy, a 17 year veteran of Virgin Group, as its Chairman.

 

How is Boomin financed?

The Bruce brothers have considerable financial resources from their previous investment in Purplebricks, the on-line agent they founded, but have since left. We also understand that as at January 2021 Boomin was seeking to raise £20 million from external investors to pay for product development and the launch marketing campaign.

Following Boomin's April 2021 launch Sky News reported that the Boomin was finalising a £25 million fundraising.The article also suggests that the fund raise is based on a post money valuation of £100m which as at 13 April 2021 would be a valuation more than 40% higher than that of challenger portal OnTheMarket's market capitalisation of £70m. 

On 14 April 2021 London estate agent Foxtons announced that it had invested in £3m into Boomin, which Foxtons believes demonstrates its commitment to stay at the forefront of property advertising technology.

Other investors in the round include the Mortgage Advice Bureau a national mortgage advisory group and broadcaster Channel4 which we understand has an 'equity for advertising' arrangement with Boomin. These are all big names and it will be interesting to see what influence these bigger names bring to bear on the strategic direction of Boomin.

On 31 March 2022 Sky News reported that Boomin had raised up to £20m the day before the end of its free trial period.

Boomin accounts for the period ending 31 March 2021

Boomin filed its shorted accounting period accounts for the three months ending 31 March 2021 on the 27 January 2022.

he accounts showed Tangible Fixed assets of £148,020, debtors £1,223,079 and cash at the bank of £760,478 alongside liabilities falling due within one year of £3,472,643 and due after one year of an additional £3,944,421, which relates to an interest-free loan from a shareholder in the company. Boomin, therefore, had net liabilities of £5,285,487.

Boomin had called up share capital of £432 a share premium account of £4,699,659, a share based payments reserve of £61,613 and retained earnings of negative £10,047,191.


Boomin accounts 31 December 2020

Boomin filed its accounts for the period ending 31 December 2020 on 6 April 2021. The accounts showed Tangible Fixed assets of £152,159, debtors £138,152 and cash at the bank of £230,393 alongside liabilities falling due within one year of £1,174,437 and due after one year of an additional £1,982,007, which relates to an interest-free loan from a shareholder in the company. Boomin, therefore, had net liabilities of £2,635,740. 

Boomin had called up share capital of £432 a share premium account of £4,699,659 and retained earnings of negative £7,335,831.

The accounts were signed by Neil Cartwright, which suggests that the former Purplebricks Chief Financial Officer has taken up the same role at Boomin.

 

Who are the shareholders of Boomin?

The latest Confirmation Statement dated 21 July 2021 states that: 

Kenneth Frederick Charles Bruce holds 59,000 A Ordinary Shares 

Michael Patrick Douglas Bruce holds 130,681 A Ordinary Shares 

Michael Framcesconi holds 1 A Ordinary Share

David John Shepherd holds 10,000 Ordinary Shares

Kenneth Frederick Charles Bruce holds 3,500 C Ordinary shares

Neil Richard Cartwright owns 3,703 C Ordinary shares

4 Ventures Limited owns 16,222 F Ordinary shares

Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited owns 8,111 F Ordinary shares

Foxtons Limited owns 9,733 F Ordinary shares

Acord Limited owns 811 F Ordinary shares

DN Capital owns 8,111 F Ordinary shares

William Whitehorn owns 162 E Ordinary shares

Sadiq Mohammed owns 487 E Ordinary shares

Kaneez Mohammed owns 487 E Ordinary shares

Warren Horrocks owns 243 E Ordinary shares

Lana Cracker owns 243 E Ordinary shares

Susan Jane Stansmore owns 162 E Ordinary shares

Antony Senny owns 406 E Ordinary shares

Archie Keswick owns 649 E Ordinary shares

Dominic Spencer-Churchill owns 243 E Ordinary shares

Claire Spencer-Churchill owns 243 E Ordinary shares

Ravinder Basra owns 162 E Ordinary shares

Charles Crick owns 49 E Ordinary shares

Stephen Murphy owns 649 E Ordinary shares

Ranald McGregor Smith owns 162 E Ordinary shares

Jennifer Crick owns 114 E Ordinary shares

Mark Murphy owns 97 E Ordinary shares

Richard Parris owns 81 E Ordinary shares

Alexander Scarlett owns 487 E Ordinary shares

Parmjit Chima owns 97 E Ordinary shares

Kerrie Humpryhs owns 714 E Ordinary shares

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