LONDON – Property company Rightmove has been accused of charging unfair and excessive prices to several thousand UK estate agents, with damages in imminent legal action estimated to total around £1 billion.
The legal action, led by former Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) panel member Jeremy Newman, will argue that Rightmove abused its dominant position in the online property portal market by charging excessive and unfair prices to estate agents to list properties on its online portal. The damages from this practice are estimated to total around £1 billion.
According to its own 2024 accounts, Rightmove’s profit margin is around 70%, making it the most profitable company in the FTSE 100.
Estate agencies across the UK will be represented by Jeremy Newman on an opt-out basis. Those who have paid fees to Rightmove within the last six years are encouraged to contact [email protected] to find out more.
Jeremy Newman’s case against Rightmove is fully funded by specialist litigation funder Innsworth Capital Limited. Mr. Newman has assembled a team of leading lawyers and experts for the case, including Scott+Scott UK LLP, Kieron Beal KC of Blackstone Chambers, Kairos Economics, and supported by an advisory panel.
Jeremy Newman, leading the case against Rightmove, said:
“Rightmove knows that, due to its first-mover status, its product is considered a ‘must-have’ for estate agents. It exploits its dominance of the online property portal market in the UK to charge excessively and unfairly high subscription fees, both at face value and when compared with its competitors. Estate agents have had to absorb consistent, excessive price increases on a regular basis.
My case will seek to return the overpaid fees to estate agents across the country and to rebalance the relationship between Rightmove and the estate agents that use its online property portal.”
Ian Garrard, Managing Director of Innsworth Advisors said:
“Jeremy’s claim is about levelling the playing field for businesses up and down the country, deterring anti-competitive behaviour and correcting the imbalance between big and small in the property sector. Without the opt-out collective actions regime, it would be much harder – or even impossible – for SMEs to seek redress for anti-competitive behaviour.
As a result of Innsworth’s funding – and at a time of considerable uncertainty for the opt-out regime – businesses within the class will not have to pay a penny towards the claim.”
Rightmove’s dominance in the UK online property market
Rightmove’s dominance in the UK online property market is plain to see, and has been acknowledged by the company itself. According to its own Half Year Results in 2024, the property company notes that “over 80% of all consumer time spent on UK property portals” is on Rightmove.
Consistent concerns have been raised about Rightmove’s market dominance. A petition launched by an estate agent in February 2025 calling for a probe by the CMA received thousands of signatures, while Facebook groups pushing to boycott Rightmove have amassed thousands of followers.