Revenue at Rightmove has increased 10% to £179.5m in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year, which represents its highest revenue growth in a first half of a period since 2018.

Johan Swanstrom, Rightmove CEO (from Feb 23)

Johan Svanstrom

The online real estate company said the growth of £16.8m was driven by customers increasing their use of the property portal’s digital products and by upgrading their packages.

The group bought back shares to the value of £55m by 30 June 2023 and paid the 2022 final dividend of £42.6m in May 2023, compared to £40.3m for the period ended 30 June 2022.

According to newly-appointed chief executive Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove’s performance against the backdrop of a challenging interest rate environment demonstrates the group isn’t materially impacted by the property cycle.

Svanstrom said: “This is a business that has performed consistently well over an extended time period, and I am excited by the growth opportunities that I see over the long term in the wider UK property market.

“From here, our aim is to expand our platform, our products and our data, for both customers and consumers, to further digitise the sector, both in our core business and in newer growth areas. We also want to play an active role in facilitating the much-needed green transition of the real estate market, leveraging our vast pool of data and insight to do so.”

Average revenue per advertiser (ARPA) was up 9% to £1,411 per month, which represents an increase on last year’s figure of £1,290.

Meanwhile, the group saw the highest new homes ARPA growth in any reporting period to date, up 23%, driven by increased product and package purchases and customer contract renewals.

Rightmove’s customer base remained steady and total membership was up 1% to 19,116.

The group’s full-year results for 2022 showed a revenue increase of 9% on 2021 to £332.6m.

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