Purplebricks back in Canadian hands
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/07/2020 (1911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Purplebricks Canada officially earned its Canuck title Wednesday after being bought by financial co-operative Desjardins Group.
Desjardins Group bought the real estate brokerage and DuProprio, a real estate company in Quebec, from United Kingdom-based Purplebricks Group for $60.5 million.
Over 500 people across Canada work for DuProprio and Purplebricks Canada. More than 300 live in Quebec, and the rest reside in Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta. Both companies’ existing teams will continue to run the organizations by their business plans.
Purplebricks Canada is a fixed-fee real estate brokerage that advertises it will save customers thousands in commission. It provides services throughout Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta and has offices in Winnipeg, Hamilton and Edmonton. DuProprio operates solely in Quebec, with offices in Lévis and Montreal. The business offers real estate services without an agent.
“It’s great news for our company, our clients and our employees to have ownership of the company back in Canada,” said Randall Weese, broker of record at Purplebricks Canada, in a written statement. “With Desjardins, we’re going to continue our work helping consumers get the most out of the sale of their property.”
Yellow Pages Limited owned DuProprio and Purplebricks Canada, then called ComFree, in 2018. That year, Purplebricks Group bought the companies. They rebranded ComFree as Purplebricks Canada in 2019.
Desjardins Group acquires the two businesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial cooperative conducted a study of Ontario’s and Quebec’s real estate markets during the pandemic — they found Quebec has avoided a price drop so far, and Ontario is bouncing back after a period of decline.
“As a co-operative organization, it was a natural fit for us to acquire Purplebricks’ holding in Canada,” Guy Cormier, Desjardins Group’s president and CEO, said in a written statement. “Through our competitive mortgages and thanks to this acquisition, we will keep on supporting people, whether they choose a commission structure, a fixed-fee service or support without an agent.”
Desjardins Group has assets of $326.9 billion.
gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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