Purplebricks is an online estate agent which operates in the UK. Founded in 2012 by Michael Bruce, Kenny Bruce and David Shepherd, it is backed by investors that include venture capital firm DN Capital as well as Neil Woodford, Paul Pindar, and Errol Damelin. History Early history Michael Bruce, Kenny Bruce and David Shepherd conceived their idea for an online estate agency in 2012.Property sales in the United Kingdom had historically been handled by traditional (or "high street") estate agencies Purplebricks' commission-free, hybrid agency business model was intended to disrupt the UK residential property market, and marketing has been a central element of the company's business strategy. In 2016, Purplebricks began using the tagline "commisery", meaning the misery home sellers feel about paying commission, to distinguish itself from traditional real estate agencies. A full advertising campaign about the concept followed the next year, and ran extensively in the UK, US, and Australia. The campaign won an Effectiveness Award from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in 2018 for demonstrating proof on payback on marketing communications, as the campaign contributed to a 218 percent growth in revenue. In 2019, Purplebricks was added to the Superbrands list, which tracks consumer perception of brand and marketing activity. Purplebricks' presence on the list was seen as an indication that the company had established itself as a household name. In 2020, Purplebricks claimed to have achieved 98 percent brand awareness within the UK
