REG - Rightmove Plc - Final Results
25/02/2022 07:16
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220225:nRSY7834Ca&default-theme=true
RNS Number : 7834C Rightmove Plc 25 February 2022
For a printer friendly version of this announcement, including images, please
click on the link below to the PDF version of the announcement.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf)
PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR RIGHTMOVE PLC YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
Financial highlights
2021 2020 2019 Change vs 2020 Change vs 2019
Revenue (£m) 304.9 205.7 289.3 +48% +5%
Operating profit (£m) 226.1 135.1 213.7 +67% +6%
Underlying operating profit((1) )(£m) 231.0 137.5 219.7 +68% +5%
Final dividend (pence) 4.8p 4.5p nil 7% -
Basic earnings per share 21.3 12.6 19.6 +69% +9%
Underlying earnings per share((2)) 21.8 12.8 20.3 +70% +7%
Performance relative to 2020 reflects the exceptional Covid customer discounts
provided between April and October 2020, therefore comparisons to 2019 are
also included.
· Revenue up £15.6m/5% on 2019 reflecting the growth in both
customer spending and ARPA, partially offset by a decline in New Homes
revenues. Relative to 2020, revenues grew by 48%, as similarly strong product
usage and package upgrades combined with an absence of 2020's Covid customer
discounts to drive strong revenue growth
· Operating profit of £226.1m, up 6% on 2019 (2019: £213.7m) and
up 67% on 2020 (2020: £135.1m)
· Underlying operating profit((1)) of £231.0m, up 5% on 2019
(£219.7m) and 68% on 2020 (2020: £137.5m)
· Basic earnings per share of 21.3p up 9% from 19.6p compared to
2019, and underlying earnings per share((2)) of 21.8p, up 7% from 20.3p.
Compared to 2020, basic earnings per share up 69% (2020: 12.6p) and underlying
earnings per share((2)) up 70% (2020: 12.8p)
· Final dividend for 2021 of 4.8p (2019: nil; 2020: 4.5p) per
ordinary share, taking the total dividend for 2021 to 7.8p
· £238.8m of cash returned to shareholders through share buybacks and
dividends in 2021 (2019: £148.5m; 2020: £30.1m)
· Cash (including money market deposits) at the end of the period
of £48.0m (2019: £36.3m; 2020: £96.7m)
Operational highlights
· Average Revenue Per Advertiser (ARPA)((3)) up 9% (£101) on 2019
to £1,189 per month (2019: £1,088; 2020: £778)
· Relative to December 2019, Agency ARPA is up by £120 (12%),
driven primarily by product purchases, package upgrades and pricing actions
· Strong uptake of our premium Optimiser 2020 package, with 21% of
independent agents now subscribing, up from 9% in December 2020
· Membership numbers are 1% down since the start of the year, at
18,969; with 16,110 (+188) Agency branches and 2,859 (-416) New Homes
developments (31 December 2019: 16,347 and 3,462; 31 December 2020: 15,922 and
3,275)
· Time on site averaged 1.5 billion((4)) minutes per month over the
period (2019 1.0 billion; 2020: 1.3 billion), reflecting Rightmove's trusted
brand and the strong property market. Site visits of 2.5 billion((4)) (2019:
1.6 billion; 2020: 2.1 billion), up 56% from 2019 and up 19% from 2020
· Continued innovation with the launch of three additional digital
marketing solutions and further progress in Rental and Mortgages as part of
digitising more of the transaction
· Rightmove is committed to becoming a Net Zero business and has
submitted fully verified near-term and net zero targets to the SBTi to achieve
a significant reduction in emissions by 2030
(1) Underlying Operating Profit is defined as operating profit before
share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance)
(2) Underlying EPS is defined as underlying profit (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
(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.
Current trading and outlook
Rightmove's network effects continue to position us at the heart of the UK
property market and our financial performance in 2021 reflects the trust that
our customers placed in our digital products to help their businesses to
respond to the opportunities presented by the buoyant housing market.
As the market normalises, we expect the number of transactions to return to
pre-pandemic levels. We remain alert to the macro environment, but Rightmove
is not materially impacted by the property market cycle other than in the most
extreme circumstances and we believe the UK online property advertising market
will continue to grow.
We will maintain our disciplined cost management and focus on revenue growth,
with costs in the historic range of 25%-27% of revenues.
The strength of our proposition, coupled with the innovation delivered during
the past two years and the momentum generated during in 2021, underpins the
Board's confidence in Rightmove's outlook for 2022 and beyond.
Peter Brooks-Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, said:
Our position at the heart of Britain's home-moving journeys strengthened even
further in 2021, with people spending an incredible 18 billion minutes
searching and researching for their new home. I'm proud of our role in helping
more people than ever before find a home that meets their needs and helping
our customers help sellers and landlords achieve the best price by having
their properties marketed to by far the biggest home-moving audience in the
UK.
Our ambition to make home moving easier in the UK is undiminished and drives
our everyday business and longer-term strategy, and I'm excited about our
plans to use our industry leading platform to digitise more of the home-moving
journey.
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 Peter Brooks-Johnson, CEO, and Alison Dolan, CFO.
Enquiries: Investor
Relations Investor.Relations@rightmove.co.uk
(mailto:Investor.Relations@rightmove.co.uk)
Rightmove Press Office Press@rightmove.co.uk
(mailto:Press@rightmove.co.uk)
Chair's Statement
It is my pleasure to present Rightmove's results for the year ended 31
December 2021. Rightmove celebrated its 21(st) Birthday in 2021 and we are
delighted that our results demonstrate the resilience of the Group's business
model, the return to more normal operating conditions and continuity of growth
from 2019, looking through the disruption of 2020.
2021 has been the busiest year in Rightmove's history, with record numbers of
home hunters spending over 18 billion minutes on our platforms. The UK
property market has seen extraordinary activity this year with over 1.4m
transactions fuelling an increase of 4.6% in average house prices. The strong
market has presented opportunities and pressures for our customers and our
business, and I am proud that our teams have delivered great service to our
customers and home hunters during the year.
In September, we were able to hold a Group-wide employee day, bringing all our
teams together after 18 months of remote working, with many new team members
experiencing for the first time the enjoyment of 'all being in it together'
and able to meet new colleagues for the first time. Our workforce has grown by
12%, with over one-third joining during lockdown, and bringing people together
has been extremely important to us.
Financial Results
The Group's results reflect the strength of our business model and core value
proposition, delivering underlying operating profit((1)) of £231.0m (2020:
137.5m) and operating profit of £226.1m (2020: £135.1m) from revenue of
£304.9m (2020: £205.7m). Underlying earnings per share((2)) was 21.8p
(2020: 12.8p) and basic earnings per share 21.3p (2020: 12.6p). Our cash((3))
position at the year-end was £48.0m (2020: £96.7m), having returned all
surplus cash to shareholders.
Returns to shareholders and dividend
In keeping with our policy of returning free cash to our shareholders,
£238.8m (2020: £30.1m) was returned through the share buyback programme,
which resumed in March, and dividend payments in May and October.
The Board remains confident in our ability to deliver sustainable returns to
shareholders and is recommending a final dividend of 4.8p per share for 2021
(2020: 4.5p). The final dividend will be paid, subject to shareholder
approval, on 27 May 2022. The share buyback programme, which paused for the
Closed Period from 1 January, will resume in March 2022.
Board priorities and governance
There have been no changes to the Board or Committee membership during the
year.
In 2021, the Board has focused on augmenting the senior leadership team,
investing in our core business and in two key strategies aimed at improving
tenants' rental journeys and providing home buyers with an effective digital
journey towards selecting a mortgage.
In corporate governance, we aim to be best in class and have established a
Corporate Responsibility Committee to oversee the Group's Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG) strategy. The Audit Committee has overseen the
competitive tender for new external auditors and proposed the appointment of
EY LLP to replace KPMG LLP, which the Board has recommended for shareholder
approval at our AGM in May. The Group Risk Committee has supported the Audit
Committee's work, notably recommending a new comprehensive Risk Management
Framework which will be fully implemented in 2022 (see the Corporate
Governance Report and Risk Management section for details).
I am pleased to report that the comprehensive set of ESG initiatives and
performance targets set by the Board in 2020 have enhanced our approach and
oversight of environmental risks, employee welfare and governance (see the
Sustainability Report for details). This year we are able to report under the
recommendations of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures and
submit our environmental targets to the Science Based Targets initiative. We
continue to make progress on the Social side of ESG, with support for our
employees and the communities in which our offices are based. We have also
made a significant increase in our charitable giving programme this year, and
aim to continue to do so in the coming year.
Looking ahead
We fully appreciate the talent and dedication of our teams and on behalf of
the Board, I would like to thank all our employees for their outstanding
efforts in delivering such strong results in another challenging year and for
serving our customers and consumers so well.
Following a year of strong recovery and a return to the growth trajectory our
stakeholders expect, we are confident that our investment in technology and
people will uphold Rightmove's position as the UK's number one property
portal. We are committed to investing in our core business, to providing the
premium service that our customers expect and the truly compelling consumer
experience homehunters know and love, in addition to pursuing our
complementary new strategies.
I am looking forward to working with our teams in 2022 as we continue to
invest in the long-term sustainability of our business and to create more
value for all our stakeholders.
Andrew Fisher
Chair
25 February 2022
Chief Executive's review
Over the past 21 years Rightmove, along with thousands of our customers, has
changed the way that Britain searches and researches property. The past two
years have demonstrated the trust that Britain's homemovers place in
Rightmove, not only as the place to find their next home but as the most
reliable source of information about the housing market. The pandemic
encouraged many to reconsider what they wanted from their home, leading to a
busy property market during 2021. This strong market, and Rightmove's place at
the heart of it, led to record levels of engagement with our platforms;
homehunters spent over 18 billion minutes on our platforms searching for a new
home or location and considered new possibilities, 15% higher than any
previous year. This record traffic extended Rightmove's share of audience time
compared to other property portals.
The increased levels of buyer demand created a consequent reduction in the
number of properties available for sale. The healthy transaction numbers and
lack of available stock encouraged many agents to invest more heavily in
Rightmove products to ensure they could drive their businesses forward by
winning those instructions which were available. The record growth of average
revenue per advertiser (ARPA) to £1,189 is testament to the trust our agent
customers place in the Rightmove marketing products to help them to grow their
businesses.
The lack of new stock saw fewer new entrants to the agency industry than in
previous years and made existing agencies equally cautious about expanding
their branch networks. However, our record agent retention rate of over 91%
drove a 1% increase in total agency membership, despite the low number of new
agency joiners.
Although our number of developer customers remained stable, the imbalance
between supply and demand and the impact of Covid on construction rates saw
the number of New Homes developments listed on Rightmove fall by nearly 6%
during 2021, with many developers having already sold all their projected H1
2022 completions by the end of 2021. This lack of stock to sell reduced
developers' marketing needs, with spend dropping across various media
platforms. Against this background, the 2% growth in ARPA from New Homes
developers is testament to the strength of the new products released in the
year - Advanced Development Listings and Native Search Adverts.
The robustness of the Rightmove model and the value of our service are
underlined by the overall record ARPA growth of £411 (53%) in the year (a 9%
increase from 2019), despite the headwinds generated by the stock-constrained
market in 2021. The actions taken to support our customers through discounts,
training and other support during 2020 have made Rightmove a stronger
business. Revenue in 2021 was 5% higher than 2019 at £304.9m, with strong
momentum carried into 2022.
While the core property marketing proposition continues to go from strength to
strength, Rightmove's long standing ability to build smaller businesses which
leverage and support the core business continues to drive growth. In 2021
these businesses - Commercial property, Data Services, Overseas property,
Third Party Advertising and the early-stage Tenant Services and Mortgages
businesses grew by 30% to contribute £31.9m (2020: 24.6m).
Our preparation for agile remote working at the start of 2020 means our teams
have been able to continue to innovate at pace. During 2021, the team released
countless improvements to the platform for consumers and four significant new
products, which are already generating revenue. Our focus remains steadfastly
on making home moving easier in the UK, with progress also on our longer-term
initiatives within Tenant Services and Mortgages. Whilst both initiatives are
early in their revenue growth, we have experimented with and implemented many
features which have yielded significant learnings both in our ability to make
the process easier for home movers, and more efficient for our customers.
I am immensely proud that we have worked with our customers to help
homehunters in the busiest UK property market since 2007((4),) despite the
ongoing challenges of the pandemic. The efficiency of the 2021 housing market
is testament to the resilience of the thousands of people who work in the UK
property industry and the benefits that a digital market can bring.
Rightmove's sense of common purpose is stronger than ever, with 89% of our
people responding to the annual 'Have Your Say' survey, agreeing that
Rightmove is a great place to work.
Our ambition to make home moving easier in the UK is undiminished and drives
our everyday business and longer-term strategy to build a valuable,
sustainable business for all our stakeholders.
Our Strategy - making home moving easier
The place consumers turn to and return to first
Rightmove's place at the heart of home-moving in the UK has been hard won and
our audience has high expectations of the technology and quality of the
services we offer. In 2021, we maintained our culture of continuous
improvement and innovation to make home-moving easier and to make our
platforms a compelling experience for our users. For 15 years in a row,
Rightmove has been a more popular search term than 'property for sale'
according to Google, and 17 years for 'property to rent'.
In 2021, consumers made over 2.5 billion((5)) visits to our platforms and
spent over 18.3 billion((5)) minutes (2020: 15.9 billion minutes) on
Rightmove. This level of consumer engagement has been achieved by delivering
the best and most relevant search and research tools and access to the most
up-to-date, engaging and comprehensive property content available. Consistent
with our restless drive for improvement, despite a ground-up refresh of the
property details pages in 2020, we released a further 70 iterations in 2021
which made the pages more efficient for home hunters, while highlighting
features which are becoming much more important, such as a property's energy
performance and its tenure.
Over 71% of all time spent on Rightmove's platforms in 2021 was to our
mobile-optimised site and apps, which have again seen the fastest growth, with
a 16% increase in mobile site-time and a 14% increase in app time during
2021((5)). Our mobile-optimised website and apps benefited from continuous
investment with, for example, ground-up rebuilds of our popular draw-a-search
and keyword-sort features. The total amount of time spent on Rightmove apps is
over 12 times((6)) that spent on our closest competitor's and our mobile and
tablet apps have over 5 times((6)) more unique visitors on average per
month, with each user spending an average of twice as much time per
month((6)).
The availability of our platforms is vital for both homeowners and home
hunters and we have maintained an industry-leading level of "uptime" of
99.99%, meaning our platforms were unavailable for just under 15 minutes
during 2021.
Our property research tools are widely used by landlords, homeowners, buyers
and sellers. Consumers spent over 728 million minutes using our sold prices
data from an archive of over 58m properties, an increase of 21% on 2020. As
many home hunters reassessed their accommodation requirements and commute
times during the pandemic, the use of our 'Where Can I Live?' tool increased
by 22% in 2021, compared to 2020.
We value our role as a trusted source of housing market knowledge for UK home
hunters and send our consumer email to an average of five million consumers
every week. Rightmove's unique property demand data, analytical capabilities
and access to real-time search and sales patterns provides valuable insights
and commentary on property and home moving trends. Our House Price Index is
the most accurate leading indicator of house prices in the UK, based on 95% of
newly advertised properties in the UK.
Our continuous investment in building our brand and the popularity of our
website and apps means that 84% of visits to our platforms are direct visits,
initiated either by consumers going directly to our site or launching our app.
We have again focused on search engine optimisation and consumer engagement,
understanding that the behaviour of our audience is always evolving.
Unrivalled returns for our customers through digital marketing solutions and
insight
Our objectives are to help our customers to save time, grow their market
share, market more effectively and create new revenue streams. We achieve this
by giving our customers access to the largest possible home moving audience,
helping them to win more business, and by providing them with a range of
digital services and information.
While we are proud of the extended product suite we offer, we work hard to
ensure that the platform works for all our customers. The record traffic to
Rightmove, coupled with the strong property market throughout the year,
delivered a record 65 million property-specific leads to our customers, up 26%
on 2020.
Rightmove's product suite has been carefully designed to be effective in both
stock-constrained and demand-constrained markets. In the extreme
stock-constrained market of 2021, our agent customers turned more than ever to
our products to help them to win property sales instructions efficiently.
Winning the right to an instruction to sell or to let a property is critical
to an agent's success. Our premium packages, Enhanced and Optimiser 2020, help
our customers to generate more opportunities to win instructions cost
effectively. The packages include branding and property-promotion solutions to
boost agents' performance in the 'awareness' stage of the marketing funnel,
while our popular Local Valuation Alert and Rightmove Discover products
fast-track agents to the 'consideration' stage.
The market structure particularly highlighted the effectiveness of our vendor
lead products and the benefits of our unrivalled first-party data driven agent
branding products. Responding to our customers' needs, we increased the
inventory of our lead generation products by 22%, increasing the number of
vendor leads generated by 20% on 2020.
Recognising the value of our additional products, nearly 1,400 customers chose
to upgrade to our Optimiser 2020 package. These package upgrades, along with
customers choosing to buy more products, and our pricing actions contributed
to record agency ARPA growth between January and December 2021.
The strong demand from home-hunters has led to many New Homes developments
being fully sold off-plan, significantly reducing the requirement for
developers to advertise. Pleasingly, despite the strong demand for New Homes,
28% of New Homes developments upgraded to our new Advanced Development
Listings subscription package, launched in April 2021, which creates an
opportunity to cross-sell and up-sell plots on a development, providing better
engagement and lead-generation.
We continue to innovate our product set to bring together Rightmove's
extensive first-party dataset and reduce advert-management effort for our
customers by leveraging the creative assets they have already shared as part
of their listings. The second of our next generation marketing products,
Native Search Adverts, launched for our New Homes customers in November. By
combining enhanced designs tailored to our developers' needs and our
intelligent retargeting, pioneered with our Sold By Me product, Native Search
Adverts are performing more than five times better than location only targeted
banner ads.
Rightmove's value to our customers goes beyond digital advertising solutions;
we also offer tools to our customers to help them to run their businesses more
efficiently. In the busy and often resource-constrained environment in 2021,
these tools took on heightened importance.
Rightmove Plus, included free of charge as part of all Rightmove membership
packages, helps customers throughout the property marketing lifecycle. Agents
tell us, for example, that the new version of the Best Price Guide, a
reporting tool within Rightmove Plus which helps them to gather comparable
properties to support their suggested property price, saves them up to an hour
per market appraisal. The Best Price Guide was used over 14 million times in
2021.
The video viewing tool developed during 2020 to help with Covid-restricted
viewings allowed our customers not only to remain safe during the early part
of 2021, but to process efficiently the higher-than-normal level of home
hunter enquiries generated in the remainder of the year. Over 400,000 virtual
video viewings were delivered using the secure Rightmove platform in 2021,
more than double those of 2020, while the new appointment booking tool was
used by tenants to request over 344,000 physical viewings.
Our market-leading professional training programme, free to all members,
remains an invaluable tool for our customers. The topics covered in 2021
ranged from 'preparing for an HMRC inspection' to 'recruiting the best talent'
and from 'winning new sellers' to 'how to help tenants with accessibility
needs to find the right home'. In the year, we added courses that gave our
customers continuing professional development (CPD) certification. This
accredited learning has added an extra, welcome dimension to our offering and
is helping agents to fulfil mandatory training. In 2021, over 4,500
individuals from nearly 2,500 branches received foundation and advanced
certificates in GDPR (Data Protection). Overall, in 2021 our webinars were
viewed by nearly 24,000 property professionals both live and through our
on-demand service. Our Rightmove Hub, which hosts all the material closed the
year with more than 1,000,000 page views.
Rightmove's Commercial Real Estate (CRE) portal provides access to the largest
audience of agents/ surveyors, landlords/owners, developers and investors in
the UK. The changes in ways of working over the last two years have
accelerated digital adoption as more agents and occupiers have used Rightmove
both to advertise and to search for property and, having experienced the ease
of using digital tools, have continued to do so. This dynamic is reflected in
the healthy growth of our audience, with time spent on our commercial property
pages increasing by 17% and leads to CRE customers increasing by 25% during
2021. The Rightmove platform increasingly generates leads from occupiers with
significant scale, allowing CRE agents not only to earn a fee on the property
being advertised but to introduce clients to the other professional services
they offer.
Rightmove's Data Services business supports the property industry by
delivering property valuation tools and insights based on our unparalleled
dataset. The Surveyor Comparable Tool, used by surveyors to make property
valuations, was used in over 75% of mortgage transactions in the UK, with more
than 2.4 million reports run in 2021. Our Automated Valuation Model is used by
lenders and, overall, we valued more than £3.8 trillion worth of property in
2021.
The environment for Rightmove's Overseas property advertising business has
been challenging. The uncertainty surrounding Brexit was followed by
pandemic-related travel restrictions, which effectively prevented UK buyers
from travelling to view properties abroad. We are now well-positioned to
recover as these restrictions start to unwind and we can once again help
prospective buyers to find their dream homes abroad.
Innovating to make the home moving process more efficient by being more
digital
Rightmove has played a significant role in digitising the property search
market in the UK. We believe that, by using the power of technology to improve
the journey from searching for a home to being ready to transact on it, we can
make the process more transparent, more efficient and less stressful for both
professionals and homehunters.
Digitisation also creates opportunities which expand and augment our revenue
beyond classified advertising. While still in the early stages, we are
encouraged by the possibilities we are uncovering.
Viewings Manager, our integrated appointments booking system, allows tenants
to request an appointment electronically and to provide enhanced lead
information which allows agents easily to assess the property's affordability
and suitability. Once a viewing is confirmed, tenants can cancel or reschedule
the appointment at the click of a button and receive automated reminders to
help to avoid missed appointments, which is a key timesaving benefit for
agents. Once a viewing has been completed, agents can seamlessly order a full
tenant reference from Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services, without the need
to re-enter the tenant's details, again saving time and reducing the risk of
error.
In 2021, we rebranded our tenant services business as Rightmove Landlord and
Tenant Services and relaunched our tenant-referencing portal with added
functionality. By offering one of the highest quality tenant reference
products in the industry, we were able to introduce a market-leading landlord
insurance product, which will provide increased cover at no extra cost. The
next iteration of the referencing product -which leverages Open Banking
technology to increase speed and accuracy yet further - is already underway.
When moving, tenants require a number of services, including home contents
insurance and broadband, for their new homes. In 2021, we continued to develop
our offering to tenants to secure these services, helping over 9,000 tenants.
The combination of landlord and tenant products creates a valuable profit
stream on top of the reference itself. In 2021 these additional services
created an additional £4.30 profit per reference delivered. We see future
growth in our ability to increase the number of tenants purchasing insurance
therefore increasing the profit per reference and increasing our share of the
referencing market.
Our quest to reduce the time taken by tenants to complete their rental
journeys, from search to occupancy, remains a focus, with our first fully
digital rental-progression flow due to enter testing in the first half of
2022. In the medium term, this flow will significantly enhance our
opportunities to engage with tenants and offer them a transparent view of
their progress towards moving in. It will also offer our customers a
frictionless experience that minimises data entry and enables them to
significantly reduce the administrative burden to let a property, while
protecting them from regulatory risk. It will also allow us to offer more
valuable services to tenants.
A vital part of the home buying journey is understanding affordability, which,
for many people, starts with receiving an indication that they can secure a
mortgage. Home movers tell us that they only start to be confident that they
can secure a mortgage at the point they want to make an offer on the home they
have chosen. This is too often late in the process and can lead to frustration
and disappointment for the home buyer and wasted time, delays and potentially
lost sales for agents. We will help home buyers to increase their confidence
earlier in the property search and selection process by offering easy,
personalised, lender backed mortgages in principle (MiP).
In 2021, we enhanced our nascent digital flow, bringing together the MiP and
property search tools with helpful content which not only creates more
certainty for borrowers, but increases the volume and quality of mortgage
leads for our mortgage partner. While still early in our development, we
increased the number of MiPs delivered four-fold compared to 2020 and the
number of mortgage reservations nearly doubled. Plans are well advanced to
make the journey to achieving a MiP easier and more efficient. This helps
both prospective buyers and enhances agent efficiency through better qualified
leads.
Our environment and society
Doing the right thing underpins our culture and fashions our response to a
range of issues. We believe that Rightmove can and should be a force for good
in the UK's drive to reduce carbon emissions and to make a difference in the
communities in which we operate.
A diverse Rightmove is important to us. We recognise that a diverse team will
provide a wide range of perspectives that promote innovation and business
success. Drawing on what is unique about individuals adds value to the way we
do business and helps us to anticipate and then provide the features our
customers and homehunters expect from the Rightmove platform. We are committed
to reducing the gender pay gap within Rightmove and are pleased to report that
the ethnic diversity of our employees reflects the UK population, with good
representation in each pay quartile. We continue to work on promoting
inclusion and opportunity beyond our workforce, through our partnership with
Generating Genius to encourage people from disadvantaged backgrounds to
consider a career in technology, and through the recruitment of a wider
variety of educational backgrounds.
Our environmental strategy has two elements. Firstly, to use science-based
targets to reduce Rightmove's carbon footprint within our own operations and
supply chains. Secondly, to use the reach of our platforms to support
initiatives to make the UK a carbon-neutral country.
In 2021, we committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and have
submitted our targets to ensure we play our part in meeting the 1.5°C climate
challenge.
Also in 2021, we took the first steps to using our platform to promote energy
efficient homes to homehunters. Highlighting the Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC) on each property, for example, increases home hunter
engagement with EPCs by 35%. Using the unique insight from our collaboration
with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy project to
assess the value difference of low carbon homes, we created a series of
stories to expand on the benefits for owners of reducing their home's carbon
footprint, achieving widespread national media coverage.
We will continue to help to drive the UK's 'net zero' agenda by digitising
home moving in the UK and helping consumers to understand the options and
benefits of making their homes more energy efficient.
More information about all these initiatives and our progress in meeting our
environmental and social targets can be found in the Sustainability Report.
Build great teams
Our people define Rightmove and create a culture which is highly supportive,
innovative and open, where everyone matters and knows that their ideas will be
explored and views respected. Our employees live by the central behaviours of
doing the right thing for our customers and consumers, driving improvement,
and taking responsibility for making things that matter happen.
We work hard to create one highly connected, collaborative team, with minimal
hierarchy and bureaucracy, removing any barriers to rapid growth and
innovation. As we have grown our teams by 12% in a challenging year for
recruitment, we have remained disciplined in our determination to employ the
right people and then to support them to be confident, to innovate and to lead
effectively.
2021 has been another year of extended periods of remote working and it has
been a challenge to foster a strong sense of belonging and connection.
Rightmovers have shown remarkable resilience and pragmatism in the face of the
continuing separation from each other, and I am pleased that against this
backdrop we have only seen a small decline in connectedness in our 2021 'Have
Your Say' survey. 89% (2020: 93%) of employees responding agreed that
'Rightmove is a great place to work', 89% think that they can be themselves at
work and 89% are proud to work for Rightmove. Our commitment to restless
improvement means that plans are in place to return these measures to their
previous long-term averages.
I am proud of our achievements and would like to thank all our employees for
their extraordinary efforts and commitment over the past year, which have
contributed to such a strong set of results.
Peter Brooks-Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
25 February 2022
(1) Underlying Operating Profit is defined as operating profit before share
based payments charges (including the related National Insurance)
(2) Underlying 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
(3) Cash including money market deposits
(4) Residential property transactions in the UK recorded by the Land
Registry
(5) Source: Google analytics
(6) Source: Comscore Mobile Metrix® Mobile App only, total Audience,
Custom-defined list of Rightmove (Mobile App) and Zoopla Property Search
(Mobile App), January - December 2021, United Kingdom.
Chief Financial Officer's Review
Rightmove emerged strongly from the challenges of 2020, delivering a robust
financial performance that exceeded its 2019 pre-pandemic results.
Revenue
Revenue increased by £99.2m/48% from 2020, to £304.9m (2020: £205.7m),
reflecting both the ending of the 2020 customer Covid discounts, and strong
product growth and package upgrades which drove ARPA growth during 2021.
2021 2020 2019 Change vs 2020 £m Change vs 2020 % Change vs 2019 %
£m
£m
£m
Agency 224.5 141.6 209.2 82.9 58% 7%
New Homes 50.0 40.7 55.5 9.3 23% (10%)
Other 30.4 23.4 24.6 7.0 30% 24%
Total revenue 304.9 205.7 289.3 99.2 48% 5%
2021 2020 2019 Change vs 2020 Change vs 2020 % Change vs 2019 %
Agency branches 16,110 15,922 16,347 188 1% (1%)
New Homes devs 2,859 3,275 3,462 (416) (13%) (17%)
Total membership 18,969 19,197 19,809 (228) (1%) (4%)
Comparisons to the 2019 financial year have been included as the performance
in 2020 was distorted by the exceptional customer Covid discounts provided
between April and October 2020. The drivers of revenue growth are more
clearly seen when compared to 2019's results.
Agency revenues of £224.5m increased 7%/£15.3m on 2019, reflecting both
increased use of our digital products by our agent customers and successful
pricing actions during both 2020 and 2021. Relative to 2020, agency revenues
grew by 58% as similarly strong product usage and package upgrades combined
with the absence of 2020's Covid customer discounts to drive strong revenue
growth. We saw strong product purchase and package upgrades as agents used our
products to win instructions in what has been a buoyant housing market. Agency
ARPA((1)) increased to £1,155, up 12%/£120 from £1,035 in 2019 (up
58%/£425 on 2020 from £730). Agency customer numbers ended the year
broadly flat at 16,110: an increase of 1%/188 compared to 2020 (2020: 15,922)
- mostly new, independent, single-branch agents - and a decrease of 1%/237
branches compared to 2019 (2019: 16,347), as the stock-constrained market made
it difficult for new agencies to start up.
New Homes revenue of £50.0m fell by 10%/£5.5m on 2019, as the New Homes
market was forward-sold for the entirety of 2021, and some developers reduced
discretionary spend on our suite of digital advertising products as
developments sold out and were advertised for shorter periods on our sites.
Relative to 2020, revenue increased by 23%/£9.3m due to the absence of Covid
discounts in 2021. Developments ended the year at 2,859, a decrease of
17%/603 developments on 2019 (2019: 3,462) and a decrease of 13%/416
developments on 2020 (2020: 3,275). However, new product launches and pricing
actions meant that New Homes ARPA ((2)) increased to £1,367 per development
per month - up 2%/£24 on 2019 and up 36%/£364 on 2020 (2020: £1,003; 2019:
£1,343).
Other revenues of £30.4m increased 24% on 2019 (and increased 30% on 2020) as
all business units, other than Overseas, saw strong growth. Demand for Data
Services products increased due to the activity in the property market, which
drove higher volumes of our Surveyor Comparable Tool and Automated Valuation
Model; Commercial revenues increased as customer numbers and listings grew
strongly throughout the year; and Third Party revenue increases were driven by
higher website traffic, which resulted in additional sold inventory. The
decline in Overseas' revenue was due to the ongoing Covid-related travel
restrictions, preventing consumers travelling to view properties abroad during
2021.
Revenue £m vs
2020
Revenue £m vs
2019
Refer to PDF
- http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf)
Revenue by segment
Refer to PDF
- http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf)
Administration costs
Operating costs of £81.2m increased by £10.6m/15% from £70.6m in 2020 and
by £5.6m/7% from £75.6m in 2019.
Underlying operating costs((3)) (defined as operating costs before the
inclusion of share-based payments charges and related national insurance of
£4.9m) were £76.3m - an increase of £8.1m/12% compared to (2020: £68.2m)
and an increase of £6.7m/10% from 2019 (2019: £69.6m). The increased from
2019 is primarily due to:
· increased salary costs of £5.6m, due to the higher headcount in our
product development teams and from Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services
payroll costs following the October 2019 acquisition;
· higher Tech costs of £0.9m, reflecting the surge in website traffic
over the last two years which has driven increased supplier website costs;
· other cost increases of £0.2m: increases in marketing advertising
spend (£0.4m); Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services (£0.8m); investing in
the digital mortgages journey (£0.4m); and higher training and recruitment
costs (£0.4m) were mostly offset by lower staff-related expenses following
continuing savings as a result of the changes in ways of working post
pandemic.
The increase in costs compared to 2020 also largely reflects higher headcount
costs of £5.9m, from investment in our product development teams and the
return to normal payroll levels as senior management salary savings made
during 2020 ended. In addition, marketing costs were £1.1m higher following a
period of reduced marketing during the second quarter of 2020. Other cost
increases, compared to 2020, included training and recruitment, technology
costs and investment in mortgages.
Operating profit
2021 2020 2019 Change vs 2020 £m Change vs 2020 % Change vs 2019 %
£m £m £m
Revenue 304.9 205.7 289.3 99.2 48% 5%
Other income 2.4 - - 2.4 - -
Admin costs (81.2) (70.6) (75.6) (10.6) 15% 7%
Operating profit 226.1 135.1 213.7 91.0 67% 6%
Operating Margin 74% 66% 74%
Operating profit of £226.1m increased by £12.4m/6% on 2019 and by
£91.0m/67% on 2020, with an operating profit margin of 74% (2019: 74%; 2020:
66%).
Underlying operating profit((4)) of £231.0m, before the impact of the
share-based incentive charges and related national insurance of £4.9m,
increased by £11.3m vs 2019 and by £93.5m vs 2020 (2019: £219.7m; 2020:
£137.5m), with an underlying operating profit margin((5)) of 76% (2019: 76%;
2020: 67%).
The results and margins are impacted by other income of £2.4m - which is a
one-off credit representing the release of the contingent consideration
provision in relation to the acquisition of Rightmove Landlord and Tenant
Services (previously Van Mildert) in 2019, as the threshold performance
criteria were not met.
Earnings per share (EPS)
Basic EPS increased by 69% to 21.3p (2020: 12.6p; 2019: 19.6p), driven by the
increase in profit and the reinstatement of the share buyback programme, which
reduced the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue to 858.8m
(2020: 871.2m; 2019: 884.4m).
Underlying EPS((6)) (based on underlying operating profit) increased by 70% to
21.8p (2020: 12.8p; 2019: 20.3p).
Taxation
The consolidated effective tax rate for the year ended 31 December 2021 was
18.9% (2020: 18.5%), slightly below the UK enacted tax rate of 19.0% mostly
due to the release of the RLTS contingent consideration provision being exempt
from tax.
Tax summary - Refer to PDF
- http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf)
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 amount 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 in 2021 was £113.8m
(2020: £96.3m). Of this, £48.0m (2020: £50.2m) related to taxes borne by
the Group, while the remaining £65.8m (2020: £46.1m) was collected in
respect of payroll taxes and VAT. The increase in the total tax contribution
compared to the prior year is primarily due to higher operating profits
following the significant Covid-19 discounts offered during 2020, which
impacted both VAT and corporation tax.
Tax Borne and Collected - Refer to PDF
- http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7834C_1-2022-2-24.pdf)
Balance sheet
Summary consolidated statement of financial position
2021 2020 Change
£m £m £m
Property, plant and equipment 12.0 13.9 (1.9)
Intangible assets 21.1 22.1 (1.0)
Deferred tax asset 2.2 2.8 0.6
Trade and other receivables 23.1 23.5 (0.4)
Contract assets 0.1 0.3 (0.2)
Income tax receivable 1.1 1.2 (0.1)
Cash and money market deposits 48.0 96.7 (48.7)
Trade and other payables (22.8) (18.9) (3.9)
Contract liabilities (2.6) (1.6) (1.0)
Lease liabilities (11.0) (12.3) 1.3
Deferred tax liability - (0.9) 0.9
Provisions (0.6) (3.6) 3.0
Net assets 70.5 123.1 (52.6)
Rightmove's balance sheet at 31 December 2021 shows total equity of £70.5m
(2020: £123.1m).
The year-on-year decrease in net assets of £52.6m primarily reflects the
return of cash to shareholders by way of dividends and share buybacks during
2021.
Trade and other receivables fell slightly compared to December 2020 due to the
timing of prepayments - down £0.8m - which was partially offset by an
increase in net trade receivables of £0.5m, reflecting higher December 2021
revenues compared with December 2020. Debtor days were 22 days, lower than the
32 days in December 2020, as the disruption to business terms from the
pandemic has ended.
Trade and other payables of £22.8m have increased by £3.9m, mostly due to
higher VAT payables, and higher accruals (mostly reflecting the higher 2021
management bonus) and higher NI payable, due to increased headcount at the end
of 2021 and the increased NI due on share-based payments as a result of the
higher year-end share price (2021: £7.95; 2020: £6.51). Trade payments are
being made in the same timely manner as in 2020.
Cash flow and liquidity
Rightmove remained debt-free during 2021 and cash generation remained strong,
at 105% of operating profit. Cash generated from operating activities
increased by £95.3m to £236.8m (2020: £141.5m)((7)). Reflecting this
strong liquidity, we took the decision to cancel our revolving credit facility
of £10m, which was never used, in the first half of the year.
The closing cash balance, including money market deposits, was £48.0m (2020:
£96.7m). Surplus cash continues to be invested primarily in short-term,
easily accessible money market deposits, including in a green money-market
fund.
The Group bought back and cancelled 26.7m ordinary shares during the year
(2020: 5.0m), at a cost of £175.6m (including expenses) as part of its
ongoing share buyback programme (2020: £30.3m). Dividends totalling £64.5m
(2020: nil) in relation to the final 2020 dividend payment and interim 2021
payment were also paid during year.
Aside from tax payments of £41.6m for the payment of the estimated full year
2021 tax liability, other payments of £4.7m included lease payments of £2.5m
(2020: £2.2m), fixed asset purchases of £0.7m (2020: £2.3m), purchase of
shares of £1.3m for the SIP (2020: £0.1m) and interest and bank charges of
£0.2m (2020: £0.2m). Proceeds of £0.8m were received in relation to
exercises of share-based incentives (2020: £0.7m).
Shareholder returns
Consistent with the policy of growing dividends in line with the increase in
underlying EPS, the Directors are recommending a final dividend of 4.8p per
ordinary share, which will be paid on 27 May 2022 to all shareholders on the
register on 29 April 2022.
The share buyback programme will resume in March 2022.
Alison Dolan
Chief Financial Officer
25 February 2022
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) Underlying operating costs are defined as administrative
expenses before share-based payments charges (including the related National
Insurance)
4) Underlying operating profit is defined as operating profit
before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance)
5) Underlying operating margin is defined as the underlying
operating profit as a percentage of revenue
6) Underlying 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
7) Cash generated from operating activities of £236.8m (2020:
£141.5m) compared to operating profit as reported in the income statement of
£226.1m (2020: £135.1m).
Principal risks and uncertainties
A description of the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Group in
2021, together with the potential impact and monitoring and mitigating
activities is set out in the table below.
Key risk and description Impact Changes in the year Monitoring and mitigation Change from prior year
1 Macroeconomic environment Substantially fewer housing transactions than is normal may lead to a Housing transactions in 2021 were up 41% year on year versus 2020, ending the · Monitoring of the housing market, including leading indicators
reduction or consolidation in the number of Agency branches or a reduction in year at 1.44m((1)). Transactions were up 26% on 2019. and membership trends.
The Group derives almost all its revenues from the UK and is therefore the number of New Home developments advertised; both of which are a major
No change
dependent on the macroeconomic conditions surrounding the UK housing market determinant of the Group's revenues. · Continuing to provide the most significant and effective exposure
and consumer confidence, which impacts property transaction levels.
for customers' brands and properties.
A more uncertain macro and political environment may also lead to a Overall membership numbers were down 1% since December 2020, reflecting a 1%
lengthening of the typical property transaction cycle, resulting in cash flow increase in Agency branches and a 13% reduction in New Homes developments year · Remaining the largest source of high-quality leads, offering
issues for smaller agents with lower stock levels. on year. Membership was down 4% compared to December 2019 value-adding products and packages and helping to drive operational
efficiencies for our customers; thereby embedding the value of our membership.
In addition, a contraction in the volume of transactions in the UK housing
market could lead to a reduction in advertisers' marketing budgets, which
· Maintaining a flexible cost base that can respond to changing
could reduce the demand for the Group's property advertising products. ARPA((2)) was up 53%/£411 from 2020 to £1,189, reflecting the discounts conditions.
given to customers during Q2 and Q3 of 2020.
ARPA was up £9%/101 on 2019.
2 Competitive environment Increased competition may impact Rightmove's ability to grow revenues due to Rightmove continued to retain the largest and most engaged audience of any UK · Communication of Rightmove's value to advertisers.
the potential loss of audience, advertisers or demand for additional property portal and its market share of the top four property portals was
The Group operates in a competitive marketplace, with attractive margins and advertising products. 88.0% in 2021((3)) - a 1.5% increase from 2019 (86.5%)((3)) and a slight · Continued investment in our account management teams to help No change
low barriers to entry, which may result in increased competition from existing increase on 2020 (87.8%)((3)). customers run their businesses more efficiently.
competitors, or new entrants targeting the Group's primary revenue markets.
· Sustained marketing investment in the Rightmove brand.
· Sustained investment and innovation in serving all of our audiences.
3 New or disruptive technologies and changing consumer behaviours Failing to innovate may impact Rightmove's ability to grow revenues due to the To further enhance our speed to market we have commenced a Cloud migration · Continual improvements to our platforms.
potential loss of audience engagement, advertisers and demand for additional programme, allowing us to more easily leverage some of the latest
Rightmove operates in a fast-moving online marketplace. Failure to innovate or advertising products. technological innovations and improve our development turnaround times. · Developing our product proposition to continue meeting our No change
adopt new technologies or failure to adapt to changing customer business
customers' needs and evolving business models.
models and evolving consumer behaviour may impact the Group's ability to offer In 2021, we successfully completed a proof of concept and will be migrating
the best products and services to its advertisers and the best consumer key areas of the platform over to Cloud through 2022 and beyond. · Large in-house technology team with culture of innovation.
experience.
· Ongoing monitoring of consumer behaviour and annual 'Hackathons'
which allow employees to spend time during work hours to develop their own
online property-related ideas.
· Regular contact with the start-up and prop-tech communities to
stay abreast of market innovations.
4 Cyber security and IT systems Any loss of website availability, or theft or misuse of data held within the We have invested in several protection and detection systems to protect our · Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans subject to
Group's databases and IT systems, could result in reputational damage to the website during the year. These include on-site and Cloud-based DDoS regular testing and review.
The Group has a high dependency on technology and internal IT systems. In Group from loss of consumer and customer confidence in the Rightmove brand; mitigations; increasing capacity on our internet links; and upgrading network
Small change
today's digital world there are increased risks associated with external and financial loss arising from potential penalties and fines. and web application fire walls. · Use of three data centres to load- balance and ensure optimal
cyber-attacks which could result in an inability to operate our platforms. A
performance and business continuity capability.
security breach, such as corruption or loss of key data, may disrupt the We have also invested in several security controls to further protect the
efficiency and functioning of the Group's day-to-day operations.
internal IT systems including fully implementing two factor authentication · Regular testing of the security of the IT systems and platforms
(2FA). including penetration testing.
Our incident response capabilities have continued to be developed and we have · Ongoing investment in security systems.
also set up new systems to improve our visibility of our internet facing
'digital footprint'. · Ongoing monitoring of external threats.
· Regular internal information security training and
'spearphishing' tests.
5 Securing and retaining the right talent The inability to recruit and retain talented people could impact our ability In addition to regular Group-wide interactive webinars hosted by our Executive · Ongoing succession planning and development of future leaders.
to maintain our financial performance and deliver growth. Directors and Senior Leadership Team, our Non-Executive Directors have
Our continued success is dependent on our ability to attract, recruit, retain
increased their in-person employee engagement activities during the year. · Payment of competitive reward, including a blend of short and Small change
and motivate our highly skilled workforce. When key staff leave or retire, there is a risk that knowledge or competitive
long-term incentives for senior management.
advantage is lost. The specialist recruitment team has been increased to support the growth in
our Technology, Sales and Customer Experience Teams. · The ability for all employees to participate in the success of
the Group through the SIP and SAYE schemes.
There has been significant investment in employee development, particularly
performance management, and a continued focus on employee wellbeing with a · Regular staff communication and engagement.
variety of new internal and external support services offered.
· Maintaining the culture of the Group, which generates significant
Our hybrid working policy was introduced to keep people connected and staff loyalty.
productive, preserving Rightmove's culture. In addition to many team
activities designed to stimulate a sense of belonging, an all-employee Company
Day was organised when restrictions were lifted enabling everyone to meet in
person.
Employee sentiment remains strong, with our 'great place to work' score at 89%
(2020: 93%).
(1) Source: HMRC transactions for the UK as published in January 2022.
(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 2021, United Kingdom
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
2021 2020
Note £000 £000
Revenue 5 304,886 205,717
Other income 12 2,407 -
Administrative expenses (81,193) (70,575)
Operating profit 6 226,100 135,142
Operating profit before share-based incentive charges 1 230,965 137,521
Share-based incentives charge (4,865) (2,379)
Financial income 20 151
Financial expenses (471) (478)
Net financial expense (451) (327)
Profit before tax 225,649 134,815
Income tax expense 9 (42,555) (25,040)
Profit for the year being total comprehensive income 183,094 109,775
Attributable to:
Equity holders of the Parent 183,094 109,775
Earnings per share (pence)
Basic 7 21.3 12.6
Diluted 7 21.3 12.6
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2021
2021 2020
£000
Note £000
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 11,990 13,852
Intangible assets 21,141 22,112
Deferred tax asset 2,169 2,843
Total non-current assets 35,300 38,807
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 10 23,112 23,450
Contract assets 5 120 334
Income tax receivable 1,057 1,163
Money market deposits 5,003 -
Cash and cash equivalents 42,985 96,690
Total current assets 72,277 121,637
Total assets 107,577 160,444
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 11 (22,757) (18,925)
Lease liabilities (2,177) (2,023)
Contract liabilities 5 (2,633) (1,570)
Provisions 12 (61) (666)
Total current liabilities (27,628) (23,184)
Non-current liabilities
Lease liabilities (8,832) (10,287)
Provisions 12 (585) (2,969)
Deferred tax liability - (859)
Total non-current liabilities (9,417) (14,115)
Total liabilities (37,045) (37,299)
Net assets
70,532 123,145
Equity
Share capital 860 887
Other reserves 572 545
Retained earnings (net of own shares held) 69,100 121,713
Total equity attributable to the equity holders of the Parent 70,532 123,145
The financial statements were approved by the Board of directors on 25
February 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:
Peter Brooks-Johnson
Director
Alison Dolan
Director
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
Note 2021 2020
£000
£000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the year 183,094 109,775
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 6 3,448 3,259
Amortisation charges 6 991 1,011
Financial income (20) (151)
Financial expenses 471 478
Non-cash gain and movements in other provisions (84) (20)
Share-based payments 14 3,923 2,102
Income tax expense 9 42,555 25,040
Operating cash flow before changes in working capital 234,378 141,494
Decrease in trade and other receivables 10 338 507
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables 11 3,832 (572)
(Decrease)/increase in provisions 12 (2,989) 465
Decrease in contract assets 5 214 95
Increase/(decrease) in contract liabilities 5 1,063 (541)
Cash generated from operating activities 236,836 141,448
Financial expenses paid (209) (198)
Income taxes paid (41,611) (44,959)
Net cash from operating activities 195,016 96,291
Cash flows used in investing activities
Interest received on cash and cash equivalents 23 160
(Increase)/reduction in money market deposits (5,003) 4,141
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (700) (2,308)
Acquisition of intangible assets (19) (1,169)
Net cash used in investing activities (5,699) 824
Cash flows used in financing activities
Net dividends 8 (64,447) 2
Purchase of own shares for cancellation (174,369) (30,125)
Purchase of own shares for share incentive plans 13 (1,284) (765)
Share-related expenses (1,224) (211)
Payment of lease liabilities (2,464) (2,159)
Proceeds on exercise of share-based incentives 766 716
Net cash used in financing activities (243,022) (32,542)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (53,705) 64,573
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 96,690 32,117
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December
42,985 96,690
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
Reverse acquisition reserve
Share Capital Own shares held Other £000 Retained earnings Total
£000 £000 reserves £000 equity
Note £000 £000
At 1 January 2020 892 (11,744) 402 138 51,652 41,340
Total comprehensive income
Profit for the year - - - - 109,775 109,775
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
- - - 2,102 2,102
Share-based payments 14 -
Tax credit in respect of 9 - - - - 311 311
share-based incentives recognised directly in equity
Net dividends 8 - - - - 2 2
Exercise of share-based incentives 13
- 957 - - (241) 716
Purchase of shares for share incentive plans 13 - (765) - - - (765)
Cancellation of own shares 13 (5) - 5 - (30,125) (30,125)
Share-related expenses 13 - - - - (211) (211)
At 31 December 2020 887 (11,552) 407 138 133,265 123,145
At 1 January 2021 887 (11,552) 407 138 133,265 123,145
Total comprehensive income
Profit for the year - - - - 183,094 183,094
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
Share-based payments 14 - - - - 3,923 3,923
Tax credit in respect of 9 - - - - 928 928
share-based incentives recognised directly in equity
Net dividends 8 - - - - (64,447) (64,447)
Exercise of share-based incentives 13 - 1,248 - - (482) 766
Purchase of shares for 13 - (1,284) - - - (1,284)
share incentive plans
Cancellation of own share 13 (27) - 27 - (174,369) (174,369)
Share-related expenses 13 - - - - (1,224) (1,224)
At 31 December 2021
860 (11,588) 434 138 80,688 70,532
1 General information
The financial information set out above does not constitute the company's
statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2021 or 2020 but is derived
from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2020 have been delivered to the
registrar of companies, and those for 2021 will be delivered in due course.
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 2021 comprise the Company and its interest in its subsidiaries
(together referred to as the Group). Its principal business is the operation
of the Rightmove platforms, which have the largest audience of any UK property
portal (as measured by time on site).
The consolidated financial statements of the Group as at and for the year
ended 31 December 2021 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 financial statements have been prepared and approved by the Board of
directors in accordance with international accounting standards in accordance
with UK-adopted international accounting standards ("UK-adopted IFRS").
The consolidated financial statements were authorised for issue by the Board
of directors on 25 February 2022.
Basis of preparation
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with international accounting
standards in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
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 earnings per share (EPS): which is defined as
underlying profit (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;
· Underlying operating profit: which is defined as operating profit
before share-based payments charges (including the related National
Insurance);
· 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 and are largely driven by a valuation model
rather than reflecting operational activity. 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:
2021 2020
£000
£000
Profit for the year 183,094 109,775
Share-based incentives charge 3,923 2,102
NI on share-based incentives 942 277
Impact on tax charge (1,144) (580)
Underlying profit 186,815 111,574
Underlying profit is used instead of profit to calculate the underlying
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 divided by weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue for
the period (Note 7).
Underlying operating profit
A reconciliation of the operating profit to the underlying operating profit is
presented below:
2021 2020
£000
£000
Operating profit 226,100 135,142
Share-based incentives charge 3,923 2,102
NI on share-based incentives 942 277
Underlying operating profit 230,965 137,521
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:
2021 2020
£000
£000
Administration expenses 81,193 70,575
Share-based incentives charge (3,923) (2,102)
NI on share-based incentives (942) (277)
Underlying costs 76,328 68,196
Going concern
The directors have performed a detailed and extended 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 strongly cash
generative (105% of operating profit) and had a cash balance of £43.0m and
money market deposits of £5.0m at 31 December 2021 (31 December 2020: cash
balance £96.7m and money market deposits nil).
The Group resumed its share buy-back programme in March 2021, buying back
shares to the value of £174.4m by 31 December 2021, and paid dividends
totaling £64.5m between May and October 2021. The Group also cancelled its
£10m committed revolving loan facility with Barclays Bank plc in April 2021,
reflecting the Group's strong cash position and the fact that the facility had
never been used.
Following the impact of Covid 19 on the property market during the prior year
ended 31 December 2020, when the Group provided customers with discounts of up
to 75% of their monthly subscriptions, no further discounts were provided to
UK customers in 2021.
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 at least 12 months
from the approval of these financial statements ("the going concern period")
and modelled the likely timing of cashflows from our customers during the
going concern period. These included severe, but plausible downside
scenarios. 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). In all the scenarios tested, the Group remained cash
positive and debt-free.
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
a period of at least a period of 12 months from the date of approval of these
financial statements, and have therefore prepared the financial statements on
a going concern basis.
2 Judgements and estimates
The preparation of the consolidated and Company financial statements in
conformity with UK Adopted IFRSs 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 significant areas of estimation
uncertainty or critical judgements in applying accounting policies that have a
significant effect on the amounts recognised in the consolidated and Company
financial statements.
3 Significant Accounting Policies
The accounting policies applied by the Group in the consolidated financial
statements are in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
as adopted by the UK Adopted IFRSs and are the same as those applied by the
Group in its consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 31
December 2019. There are no standards that are issued but not yet effective
that would be expected to have a material impact on the entity in the current
or future reporting periods and on foreseeable future transactions.
4 Operating segments
The Group determines and presents operating segments based on internal
information that is provided to the Chief Executive Officer, who is the
Group's Chief Operating Decision Maker.
The Group's reportable segments are as follows:
· The Agency segment, which includes resale and lettings property
advertising services provided on Rightmove's platforms and tenant referencing
and insurance products sold by Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services; and
· The New Homes segment, which provides property advertising
services to new home developers and housing associations on Rightmove's
(http://www.rightmove.co.uk) platforms.
The Other segment which represents activities under the reportable segments
threshold, comprises Overseas and Commercial property advertising services and
non-property advertising services which include our Third-Party advertising
and Data Services.
Management monitors the business segments at a revenue and trade receivables
level separately for the purpose of making decisions about resources to be
allocated and of assessing performance. All revenue in both years is derived
from third parties and there is no inter-segment revenue.
Operating costs, financial income, financial expenses and income taxes in
relation to the Agency, New Homes and the Other segment are managed on a
centralised basis at a Rightmove Group Limited level and as there are no
internal measures of individual segment profitability, relevant disclosures
have been shown under the heading of Central in the table below.
New Homes £000
Agency Subtotal Other Central Adjustments Total £000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
Year ended
31 December 2021
224,490 50,026 274,516 30,370 - - 304,886
Revenue
Operating profit((1)) - - - - 230,965 (4,865) ((2)) 226,100
Depreciation and amortisation - - - - (4,439) - (4,439)
Financial income - - - - 20 - 20
Financial expenses - - - - (471) - (471)
Trade receivables((3)) 6,091 9,573 15,664 2,046 - 220((4)) 17,930
Other assets - - - - 89,505 142((4)) 89,647
Liabilities - - - - (36,683) (362)((4)) (37,045)
Year ended
31 December 2020
141,636 40,656 182,292 23,425 - - 205,717
Revenue
Operating profit((1)) - - - - 137,521 (2,379) ((2)) 135,142
Depreciation and amortisation - - - - (4,270) - (4,270)
Financial income - - - - 151 - 151
Financial expenses - - - - (478) - (478)
Trade receivables((3)) 4,776 9,683 14,459 2,811 - 127((4)) 17,397
Other assets - - - - 140,968 57((4)) 141,025
Liabilities - - - - (35,093) (184) ((4)) (35,277)
(1) Operating profit is stated after the charge for depreciation and
amortisation.
(2) Central operating profit does not include share-based payments charge of
£3,923,000 (2020: £2,102,000) and NI on share-based incentives charge of
£942,000 (2020: £277,000).
(3) The only segment assets that are separately monitored by the Chief
Operating Decision Maker relate to trade receivables net of any associated
provision for impairment. All other segment assets are reported on a
centralised basis.
(4) The adjustments column reflects the reclassification of credit balances in
trade receivables and debit balances in trade payables made on consolidation
for statutory accounts.
Geographic information
In presenting information on the basis of geography, revenue and assets are
reflect the geographical location of customers.
2021 2020
Revenue Trade receivables Revenue Trade receivables
£000
£000
£000
£000
Group
UK 300,056 17,876 202,468 17,252
Rest of the world 4,830 54 3,249 145
304,886 17,930 205,717 17,397
5 Revenue
The Group's operations and main revenue streams are those described in these
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 reportable segments (see Note 4).
Year ended Agency New Homes Other Total
31 December 2021
£000 £000 £000 £000
Revenue stream
Property products 224,490 50,026 14,211 288,727
Non-property products - - 16,159 16,159
224,490 50,026 30,370 304,886
Year ended Agency New Homes Other Total
31 December 2020
£000 £000 £000 £000
Revenue stream
Property products 141,636 40,656 9,832 192,124
Non-property products - - 13,593 13,593
141,636 40,656 23,425 205,717
Contract balances
The following table provides information about receivables, contract assets
and contract liabilities from contracts with customers.
2021 2020
Note £000 £000
Receivables, which are included in trade and other receivables 10 18,645 18,277
Contract assets 120 334
Contract liabilities (2,633) (1,570)
Contract assets relate to the Group's rights to consideration for services
that have been provided at the reporting date. Contract assets are transferred
to receivables when the rights to consideration 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.
6 Operating profit
2021 2020
£000
£000
Operating profit is stated after charging:
Employee benefits 37,974 34,832
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 3,448 3,259
Amortisation of intangibles 991 1,011
Trade receivables impairment charge 260 701
Auditor's remuneration 2021 2020
£000
£000
Fees payable to the Company's auditor in respect of the audit
Audit of the Company's financial statements 53 32
Audit of the Company's subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 235 208
Total audit remuneration 288 240
Fees payable to the Company's auditor in respect of non-audit related services
Half year review of the condensed financial statements 25 19
All other services 2 2
Total non-audit remuneration 27 21
There were no other fees payable to KPMG LLP (2020: £nil).
7 Earnings per share (EPS)
Pence per share
£000 Basic Diluted
Year ended 31 December 2021
Profit for the year and EPS 183,094 21.3 21.3
Underlying profit and underlying EPS 186,815 21.8 21.7
Year ended 31 December 2020
Profit for the year and EPS 109,775 12.6 12.6
Underlying profit and underlying EPS
111,574 12.8 12.8
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic)
2021
Number of shares
2020
Number of shares
Issued ordinary shares at 1 January less ordinary shares held by the EBT and 884,234,565 888,422,516
SIP Trust
Less own shares held in treasury at the beginning of the year (13,285,490) (13,360,310)
Effect of own shares purchased for cancellation (12,603,891) (4,280,999)
Effect of share-based incentives exercised 436,477 409,021
Effect of shares purchased (11,640) (6,669)
Issued ordinary shares at 31 December less ordinary shares held by treasury,
EBT and SIP
858,770,021 871,183,559
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.
2021 2020
Number of shares
Number of shares
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic) 858,770,021 871,183,559
Dilutive impact of share-based incentives outstanding 1,511,725 2,491,363
860,281,746 873,674,922
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 for the period during which the share-based incentives were
outstanding.
8 Dividends
Dividends declared and paid by the Company were as follows:
2021 2020
Pence per share £000 Pence per share £000
2019 final dividend paid - - - -
2020 interim dividend paid - - - -
2020 final dividend paid 4.50 38,900 - -
2021 interim dividend paid 3.00 25,594 - -
7.50 64,494
Unclaimed dividends returned (47) - (2)
Net dividends included in the statement of cash flows
- 64,447 - (2)
After the reporting date, a final dividend of 4.8p (2020: 4.5p) per
qualifying ordinary share, being £40,403,000 (2020: £39,228,000), was
proposed by the Board of directors. The final dividend will be paid, subject
to shareholder approval, on 27 May 2022.
The 2020 final dividend paid on 28 May 2021 was £38,900,000, being £328,000
lower than that reported in the 2020 Annual Report, which was due to a
decrease in the ordinary sharers entitled to a dividend between 31 December
2020 and the final dividend record date of 30 April 2021.
The 2021 interim dividend paid on 29 October 2021 was £25,594,000, being
£38,000 higher than that reported in the 2021 Half Year Report, which was due
to an increase in the number of ordinary shares entitled to a dividend between
30 June 2021 and the interim dividend record date of 1 October 2021.
9 Income tax expense
2021 2020
£000
£000
Current tax expense
Current year 42,307 25,272
Adjustment to current tax charge in respect of prior years 113 60
42,420 25,332
Deferred tax
Origination and reversal of temporary differences (113) 219
Adjustment to deferred tax in respect of prior years 175 (351)
Increase in tax rate at which deferred tax is being recognised 73 (160)
135 (292)
Total income tax expense 42,555 25,040
Income tax credit recognised directly in equity
2021 2020
£000
£000
Current tax
Share-based incentives (609) (465)
Deferred tax
Share-based incentives (260) 250
Increase in tax rate at which deferred tax is being recognised (59) (96)
(319) 154
Total income tax credit recognised directly in equity (928) (311)
Total income tax recognised directly in equity in respect of the Company was a
credit of £211,000 (2020: £56,000 credit).
Reconciliation of effective tax rate
The Group's consolidated effective tax rate for the year ended
31 December 2021 is 18.9% (2020: 18.5%) which is lower than (2020: lower
than) the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK due to the items shown
below. A full reconciliation of the components of the tax charge is set out
below:
2021 2020
£000
£000
Profit before tax 225,649 134,815
Current tax at 19.0% (2019: 19.0%)
42,873 25,614
Increase/(reduction) in tax rate at which deferred tax is being provided 73 (160)
Net non-taxable income /non-deductible expenses (654) 77
Share-based incentives - 50
Adjustment to deferred tax charge in respect of prior years 175 (351)
Adjustment to current tax charge in respect of prior years 113 60
Difference between the current and deferred tax rates (25) -
Research and development credit - (250)
42,555 25,040
Factors affecting future tax charge
The March 2020 Budget announced that a rate of 19% would continue to apply
with effect from 1 April 2020, and this change was substantively enacted on 17
March 2020. An increase in the UK corporation rate from 19% to 25% (effective
1 April 2023) was substantively enacted on 24 May 2021. This will increase the
company's future current tax charge accordingly. The deferred tax as at 31
December 2021 has been calculated at the average rate of 19.3% (2020:19.0%),
which represents the average rate at which the deferred tax is expected to
reverse in the future, based on substantively enacted UK tax rates.
10 Trade and other receivables
Group 2021 2020
£000
£000
Trade receivables 18,645 18,277
Less provision for impairment of trade receivables (715) (880)
Net trade receivables 17,930 17,397
Prepayments 5,028 5,951
Interest receivable 1 4
Other debtors 153 98
23,112 23,450
11 Trade and other payables
2021 2020
£000
£000
Trade payables 3,056 2,742
Accruals 7,748 5,879
Other creditors 979 414
Other taxation and social security 10,974 9,890
Inter-group payables - -
22,757 18,925
12 Provisions
Dilapidations Employee Contingent consideration
provision Provisions £000 Total
£000 £000 £000
At 1 January 2021 562 666 2,407 3,635
Utilised during the year - (666) - (666)
Released during the year - - (2,407) (2,407)
Charged in the year 84 350 - 434
Reclassified in the year (Note 11) - (350) - (350)
At 31 December 2021 646 - - 646
Current 61 - - 61
Non-current 585 - - 585
646 - - 646
Dilapidations Employee Contingent consideration
provision Provisions £000 Total
£000 £000 £000
At 1 January 2020 507 256 2,407 3,170
Utilised during the year - (256) - (256)
Charged in the year 55 666 - 721
At 31 December 2020 562 666 2,407 3,635
Current - 666 - 666
Non-current 562 - 2,407 2,969
562 666 2,407 3,635
The dilapidations provision is in respect of any of the Group's leased
properties where the Group has obligations to make good dilapidations. The
non-current liabilities are estimated to be payable over periods from one to
six years.
During the year the Group has accrued amounts in relation to employee related
holiday pay, based on the estimated future payroll cost to the Group and has
not been discounted as the time value of money is insignificant. The total
amount at the end of the year has been reclassified to be shown as an accrual
within Note 11 Trade and Other Payables.
The present value of the contingent and deferred consideration arising on
acquisition of Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services Limited was £2,407,000
at the point of acquisition. The fair value was reassessed at 30 June 2021 as
nil, due to the possibility of meeting the threshold performance criteria
within the remaining timescales, to the end of 2021, being remote. The
consideration was released, at that point, to other income within the income
statement.
13 Reconciliation of movement in capital and reserves
Group
Own shares held - £000
EBT shares reserve SIP shares reserve Treasury
£000 £000 shares Total
£000 £000
Own shares held as at 1 January 2020 (2,191) (3,205) (6,348) (11,744)
Shares purchased for share incentive plans (765) - - (765)
Shares transferred to SIP 734 (734) - -
Share-based incentives exercised in the year 397 378 36 811
SIP releases in the year - 146 - 146
Own shares held as at 31 December 2020 (1,825) (3,415) (6,312) (11,552)
Own shares held as at 1 January 2021 (1,825) (3,415) (6,312) (11,552)
Shares purchased for share incentive plans (1,127) (157) - (1,284)
Shares transferred to SIP 1,127 (1,127) - -
Share-based incentives exercised in the year 273 560 383 1,216
SIP releases in the year - 32 32
Own shares held as at 31 December 2021 (1,552) (4,107) (5,929) (11,588)
Own shares held - number of shares
Number of shares
EBT shares reserve SIP shares reserve Treasury
shares Total
Own shares held as at 1 January 2020 2,208,362 785,130 13,360,310 16,353,802
Shares purchased for share incentive plans 118,293 - - 118,293
Shares transferred to SIP (113,465) 113,465 - -
Share-based incentives exercised in the year (817,714) (111,620) (74,820) (1,004,154)
SIP releases in the year - (29,400) - (29,400)
Own shares held as at 31 December 2020 1,395,476 757,575 13,285,490 15,438,541
Own shares held as at 1 January 2021 1,395,476 757,575 13,285,490 15,438,541
Shares purchased for share incentive plans 148,147 20,278 - 168,425
Shares transferred to SIP (148,147) 148,147 - -
Share-based incentives exercised in the year (237,058) (133,200) (805,018) (1,175,276)
SIP releases in the year - (5,800) - (5,800)
Own shares held as at 31 December 2021 1,158,418 787,000 12,480,472 14,425,890
(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 2021, the EBT held 1,158,418 (2020: 1,395,476) ordinary
shares in the Company, representing 0.1% (2020: 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 2021 was £9,209,000 (2020: £9,085,000).
(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 400 free shares with effect from 21 December 2021
(2020: 350), subject to a three-year service period. 133,200 shares were
exercised (2020: 111,620) and 5,800 shares (2020: 29,400) were released by the
SIP during the year in relation to good leavers and retirees. 148,147 shares
were transferred to the SIP reserve from the EBT (2020: 113,465).
At 31 December 2021, the SIP held 787,000 (2020: 757,575) ordinary shares in
the Company, representing 0.09% (2020: 0.09%) of the ordinary shares in issue
(excluding shares held in treasury). The market value of the shares held in
the SIP at 31 December 2021 was £6,257,000 (2020: £4,932,000).
(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. An additional 1,376 (2020: nil) shares were issued as a
result of rolled up dividend payments in relation to performance shares. The
market value of the shares held in treasury at 31 December 2021 was
£99,220,000 (2020: £86,489,000).
Other reserves
This represents the Capital Redemption Reserve in respect of own shares bought
back and cancelled. The movement of £27,000 (2020: £5,000) is the nominal
value of ordinary shares cancelled during the year.
Retained earnings
The loss on the exercise of share-based incentives of £482,000 (2020:
£241,000 loss) is the difference between the value that the own shares, held
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.
14 Share-based payments
The Group and Company operate a number of share-based incentive schemes for
executive directors and employees.
All share-based incentives are subject to a service condition. 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 incentives charge for the year of
£3,923,000 (2020: £2,102,000) plus related national insurance of £942,000
(2020: £277,000) - total share-based payments related charges of £4,865,000
(2020: £2,379,000).
15 Related party disclosures
Inter-group transactions with subsidiaries
Under the inter-group loan agreement dated 30 January 2008, Rightmove Group
Limited settles all expenses on behalf of the Company, including dividends
paid to shareholders and share buybacks and related costs. During the year,
the Company was charged interest of £238,000 (2020: £279,000) under this
agreement and at 31 December 2021 the unsecured inter-group loan balance was
£21,842,000 (2020: £46,799,000) including capitalised interest.
The dividends declared and paid by Rightmove Group Limited to the Company was
£267,211,000 (2020: nil). Rightmove Group Limited declared a dividend in
specie of £1,127,000 (2020: £734,000), representing the cost of the SIP
shares transferred from the EBT to the SIP during the year.
The Company grants share options to employees of Rightmove Group Limited. This
transaction is recognised as a recharge arrangement with an increase in the
carrying value of the investment of Rightmove Group Limited.
Directors' transactions
There were no transactions with directors in either year other than those
disclosed in the Directors' Remuneration Report. Information on the emoluments
of the directors who served during the year, together with information
regarding the beneficial interest of the directors in the ordinary shares of
the Company is included in the Directors' Remuneration Report.
During the year, the directors in office in total had gains of £2,140.000
(2020: £2,153,000) arising on the exercise of share-based incentive awards.
The total share-based payments charge in relation to the directors in office
was £754,000 (2020: £965,000 credit). The credit in the prior year arose as
a result of a reduction in the estimated performance of long-term incentive
schemes in the period.
ADVISERS AND SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Contacts Registered office Corporate advisers
Chief Executive Officer: Peter Brooks-Johnson Rightmove plc Financial adviser
Chief Financial Officer: Alison Dolan 2 Caldecotte Lake UBS Investment Bank
Company Secretary: Sandra Odell Business Park
Caldecotte Lake Drive Joint brokers
Website: www.rightmove.co.uk (http://www.rightmove.co.uk)
Milton Keynes UBS AG London Branch
MK7 8LE Numis Securities Limited
Registered in Auditor
England no. 06426485 KPMG LLP((1))
Bankers
Financial calendar 2022 Barclays Bank plc
2021 full year results 25 February 2022 Santander UK plc
Final dividend record date 29 April 2022 HSBC UK Bank plc
Lloyds Banking Group plc
Annual General Meeting 6 May 2022
Final dividend payment 27 May 2022 Solicitors
Half year results 29 July 2022 EMW LLP
Slaughter and May
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Registrar
Link Asset Services((2))
((1)) Auditor
KPMG LLP will cease to hold office and shareholder approval will be sought to
appoint EY LLP as Rightmove's external auditor at the AGM on 6 May 2022.
((2) )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: enquiries@linkgroup.co.uk (mailto:enquiries@linkgroup.co.uk)
Signal Shares shareholder portal: www.signalshares.com
(https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.signalshares.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7CCheryl.Addo%40rightmove.co.uk%7C6580216f9ee9414815e208d8b0b78ae6%7C8cd57a9404ae4a8e9869feb23e19960c%7C0%7C0%7C637453649634726454%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=oILVPr%2BM%2BISe%2BUJX23LXtPiA1Xvwig37y1253ZCOpSM%3D&reserved=0)
Address: Link Group
10th Floor
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
(http://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
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
. END FR BIGDDIUDDGDSRecent news on Rightmove
See all newsREG-Rightmove Plc: Notice of Results
AnnouncementREG-Rightmove Plc: Holding(s) in Company
AnnouncementREG-Rightmove Plc: Total Voting Rights
AnnouncementREG-Rightmove Plc: Holding(s) in Company
AnnouncementREG-Rightmove Plc: Holding(s) in Company
Announcement