WHY PROPERTYMUTUAL IS NOT (YET) A FREE TO LIST PORTAL

PropertyMutual is the ONLY portal that can seriously consider a possible future introduction of the "Free to list" business model. Why? Read the following:

Other portals have tried to copy the parts of PropertyMutual that make them sound "mutual" but unlike PropertyMutual, NONE of them are businesses Limited by Guarantee - (a form of business structure often used by non-profit organisations, social enterprises, membership organisations, and charities).

Free to list is only a commercial proposition if:- the members have 100% ownership and 100% control of the data they entrust to their Mutual; member data is monetised 100% for the benefit of the Mutual and its members, not third parties; the monetisation is sufficient to cover the operating costs of the Mutual.

Free listing may be a future possibility for PropertyMutual but, in the meantime, a nominal subscription based business model, with the checks and balances of being run by a Mutual, offers "an incredibly disruptive blueprint that takes the agent/portal relationship back to its pure play mutual roots". - Jefferies.com

OUR SUGGESTED SUBSCRIPTION BASED BUSINESS MODEL (Any changes to be voted on by members)

So called "free" portals cannot generate sufficient marketing revenue to mount a realistic challenge to the established portals. If they claim they can, it is your money going into third party pockets, not your own money invested in your own business.

Mutuality = Independence: No stock market reporting; no unrealistic targets; No cash burn; No investor fund raising; No diluting control.

Mutuality = prudent, organic growth to achieve partner numbers, an appropriate subscription and then an internally funded mass media marketing budget.

Why is a genuine mutual the only business model that can make a difference? Ask Jefferies.com, who think our business model is "incredibly disruptive".The corporate business model was never designed to be a member organisation. PropertyMutual, a legitimate mutual, is fully accountable to its members, and is obliged to only work in the best interests of its members.

Why will PropertyMutual succeed? We are here for the long haul, will never relinquish our independence and, with sufficient support from the industry, can generate £30m per annum marketing budget, year on year, without ever having to raise cash from external sources. That will be a TRUE challenger portal enabling our members to think for the first time seriously about evolution in the industry. 

How will PropertyMutual succeed? Transparent, staged growth, under no pressure from external investors. As each target partnership is achieved, rates will increase to the next stage to provide a more effective marketing budget and eliminate waste. We anticipate co-operation from partners in adjusting their payments to reflect the new stage of growth.

• Stage 1 (inventory growth) subscription (0 - 5,000 members) is £10 + VAT per office per month.
  • 5000 members x £120 subs per annum = £0.6m income per annum.
  • 50% x £0.6m income = £0.3m marketing budget per annum. 
  • This will help us get started.
• Stage 2 (critical mass) subscription (5,000 - 10,000 members) will be £150 + VAT per office per month.
  • 10,000 members x £1,800 subs per annum = £18m income per annum.
  • 50% x £18m income = £9m marketing budget per annum. 
  • This will allow us to start delivering a mass media marketing budget.
• Stage 3 (challenger) subscription (10,000 + 15,000 members) will be £300 + VAT per office per month.
  • 15,000 members x £3,600 subs per annum = £54m income per annum.
  • 50% x £54m income = £27m marketing budget per annum. 
  • This will allow us to start investing in a member specified tech stack on top of our marketing spend .
• Stage 4 (consolidation) subscription (15,000 -20,000 members) will be £400 + VAT per office per month.
  • 20,000 members x £4,800 subs per annum = £96m income per annum.
  • 50% x £96 m income = £48m marketing budget per annum. 
  • This will allow us to acquire technology.

 The solution is now in the hands of the property industry.

 Sign up for a nominal start up subscription of £10 per office per month (or save two months' subscription by paying £100 per office per year) to help us achieve critical mass.

 We have shown, with genuine transparency that, with the support of a motivated body of UK property professionals, there is no reason why we cannot achieve a genuine and lasting industry owned Mutual with the same membership as the current leading portal, giving PropertyMutual all the marketing budget we need.

Rates published 04/2021. Rates can change with partner vote.

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Our Commitment to Mutuality and Charitable Assignment

Please take a few minutes to read this IMPORTANT INFORMATION and retain for future reference.

We are fully committed to the principles of mutuality believing that this is the best way of providing sustainable value for money to our partners.

As a mutual we have no shareholders and pay no dividends. We are committed to ensuring that the combined benefits of our mutuality and a low expense ratio are passed on to our property professional partners via keen prices, a wide range of relevant products and good service.

In order to demonstrate our long term commitment and ensure that the service we can provide to our partners is not disrupted by speculators taking out a partnership in the hope of receiving a windfall if we were to demutualise, all new partners joining PropertyMutual must consent to a Charitable Assignment condition. Effectively this means that in the unlikely event of PropertyMutual wishing to de-mutualise, any windfall benefit arising from the partnership you are taking out would be transferred to the PropertyMutual Charitable Trust, or other charity as determined by the Board of Directors, rather than to you as the partner.

You may read the full detail of the current Charitable Assignment condition by clicking the link below. A brief summary of each paragraph is provided below (the full wording of the condition is not limited by this summary).

• You agree to transfer to charity any right to windfall benefits on a demutualisation of PropertyMutual.
• The charity which would receive those benefits is the PropertyMutual Charitable Trust or other charity as determined by the Board of Directors.
• You agree to sign any documents that may be required to enable us to transfer the benefits to the charity.
• You allow us to take any steps on your behalf which may be needed to carry out the transfer.
• You allow us to provide information about you and your policy to the charity.

How we will achieve our goals

• It is unethical to lock our members into expensive long term contracts and burn cash without sufficient committed members to sustain the costs of running such a business.
• PropertyMutual believes a more ethical approach is to demonstrate support for the business model by affordably growing membership to critical mass by charging members a nominal subscription to cover initial operating costs. 
• Stage 1 fees allow PropertyMutual to demonstrate it has achieved critical mass with members only having to "invest" a fraction of their normal marketing and prop tech spend.
• PropertyMutual believes the 'value' of a property portal is defined according to audience:
  • to a consumer (the viewing public) it is measured in depth and quality of inventory, ease of use, features etc.
  • to a professional subscriber it is measured not in traffic statistics but in delivery of quality leads.
• We currently rely on organic growth of our member base through in-office advertising and SEO.
• As circumstances dictate, and upon achieving membership criteria, the Board will periodically place a proposal before the members for a suitable increase or decrease in member subscriptions to implement an effective mass media marketing campaign suitable to the needs of the business.
• All proposed subscription increases are published on the website.

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