Half-year Results 2022

RNS Number : 1695U

Rightmove Plc

29 July 2022

 

HALF YEAR ANNOUNCEMENT FOR RIGHTMOVE PLC - SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Rightmove plc, the UK's largest property portal, today announces its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2022.

Financial Highlights

	H1 2022	H1 2021	Change vs 2021	% Change vs 2021
Revenue	£162.7m	£149.9m	+£12.8m	+9%
Operating profit	£121.3m	£114.9m	+£6.4m	+6%
Underlying operating profit (1)	£122.4m	£117.1m	+£5.3m	+5%
Underlying operating profit excluding prior year 'other income' (2)	£122.4m	£114.7m	+£7.7m	+7%
Interim dividend	3.3p	3.0p	+0.3p	+10%
Basic earnings per share	11.7p	10.8p	+0.9p	+8%
Underlying earnings per share (3)	11.8p	11.0p	+0.8p	+7%

·   Revenue up £12.8m/9% on 2021 to £162.7m, as customers continued to increase their use of digital products and upgrade their packages

·   Operating profit of £121.3m, up 6% on 2021 (2021: £114.9m)

·   Excluding the one-off impact of 'other income' of £2.4m in the prior year (in relation to the release in 2021 of the contingent consideration for the acquisition of Van Mildert), underlying operating profit⁽²⁾ is up 7% compared to 2021. Underlying operating profit⁽¹⁾ of £122.4m, up 5% on 2021 (2021: £117.1m)

·   Basic earnings per share up 8% to 11.7p (2021: 10.8p), underlying earnings per share⁽³⁾ is up 7% to 11.8p (2021: 11.0p)

·   Interim dividend for 2022 up 10% to 3.3p (2021: 3.0p) per ordinary share

·   £100.3m of cash returned to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends in the first half of 2022 (2021: £128.3m)

·   Cash and cash equivalents, including money market deposits, at the end of the period of £43.9m (31 December 2021: £48.0m)

Operational highlights

·   Time on site averaged 1.5 billion⁽⁴⁾ minutes per month over the period (2021: 1.7 billion; 2019: 1.1 billion); 36% higher than the pre-pandemic record from 2019, reflecting Rightmove's trusted brand

·   Average Revenue Per Advertiser (ARPA) ⁽⁵⁾ up 11% to £1,290 per month (30 June 2021: £1,163)

·   Record Agency ARPA growth, up £132 (12%), and strong New Homes ARPA growth, up £117 (9%), driven primarily by increased product purchases and package prices

·   Stable overall membership numbers since the start of the year at 18,934, with 16,116 Agency branches and 2,818 New Homes developments (31 December 2021: 16,110 and 2,859)

·   Strong housing market combined with Rightmove's market leading position led to highest net growth in sales agent branches since June 2016, offset by a reduction in lettings-only branches

·   Record number of organic upgrades to our premium Optimiser 2020 package and successful migration of Optimiser 2015 customers to new packages, with 34% of independent agents now subscribing to Optimiser, up from 31% in June 2021

·   Innovative Native Search Advert for Agency customers launched in June, bringing agents' promotional short form videos to the UK's largest property audience for the first time

·   Initial release of the "lead-to-keys" tenant digital workflow, a market first, part of our digitisation of the rental journey

(1)    Underlying operating profit is operating profit before the share-based payments including the related NI charge

(2)   Underlying operating profit excluding prior year 'other income' removes the impact of £2.4m 'other income' in 2021, which represented the release of a one-off contingent consideration provision

(3)    Underlying EPS is profit for the year before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance and appropriate tax adjustments), divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding in the period

(4)    Source: Comscore, June 2022

(5)   Average Revenue per Advertiser (ARPA) is calculated as revenue from Agency and New Homes advertisers in a given month divided by the total number of advertisers during the month, measured as a monthly average over the six-month period.

O utlook

The property market in the first half of 2022 cooled slightly from the frenetic pace of 2021 but remained healthy and ahead of 2019. Despite growing economic uncertainty towards the end of the half, there was little reduction in sales activity or demand.

New agent formation may slow following the upturn in the first half. Agency branch numbers are expected to be broadly stable in the second half. The slightly cooler market may improve the availability of new homes developments by the end of the year, with development numbers also expected to be broadly stable through to the end of the year.

ARPA growth was strong in the first half as customers took advantage of Rightmove's leading digital solutions to compete effectively for new listings. In 2022, we returned to a more normal pattern of package upgrades and price reviews, with the majority of the activity being in the first half. Therefore, we expect ARPA growth in the second half of the year broadly to mirror pre-pandemic growth levels, while still likely to exceed previous guidance for the full year.

We maintain our disciplined cost management, with the phasing of costs to be slightly weighted to the second half and consistent with previous indications of between 25% and 26% of revenues.

While mindful of the economic uncertainty, the strong pipeline of product delivery planned in the second half of the year, a culture of continuous innovation and a commitment to continue to make home moving more digital for our customers and consumers, give the Board confidence in delivering its expectations for the full year and beyond.

Peter Brooks-Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"Our success during the first half of the year demonstrated the ongoing resilience of our customer base and the continuing love for and trust in our brand. Despite the housing market cooling slightly, activity on our platform was significantly higher than in the pre-pandemic market of 2019, with home-hunters using Rightmove for 1.5 billion minutes every month. Our continuous improvements and innovation have helped to increase engagement from home-hunters in tools such as sold prices, along with further investment from agents and developers as they continue to believe in the effectiveness of our digital products and tools to help them run and grow their businesses". 

"I'm excited by our recent developments to make the process of renting a property easier for tenants and agents. The new lead-to-keys workflow will give tenants the ability to search, view, secure and contract on a property, all from their mobile phones. I hope that this will alleviate some of the stress in this very competitive rental market".

The Company will publish a pre-recorded audio results presentation at 7.00am today, followed by an audio Q&A session for analysts and investors at 9.30am with Peter Brooks-Johnson, CEO, and Alison Dolan, CFO.

Enquiries:        Investor Relations                               [e-mail]

Rightmove Press Office                     [e-mail]

Half Year Statement

Rightmove remains the place that home-hunters turn to, to research the market and to find their next property. Home-hunters spent an average of over 1.5 billion minutes per month on the platform in the first half of the year, which - while lower than 2021 - was up 36% on the pre-pandemic record in 2019.

Our restless innovation continued to develop our offer to home-hunters. For example, a ground-up redesign of our Sold Property price tool saw home-hunter engagement increase by nearly 20% since launch, and a combination of new features such as property shortlists and enhanced personalisation saw the number of signed-in users increase by almost 40% since the start of the year. We continue to innovate and are proud to have received the 'Best Contextual Innovation" award in the 2022 Thinkbox TV planning awards.

As the market remained stock-constrained and competitive during the first half of the year, our focus has been to support our customers in finding and then selling properties - through providing both new products and enhancements to existing products - as well as on providing home-hunters with the tools they need to assess properties they view on our site.

In response, agents have chosen to spend more on our packages and products, and Agency revenue and ARPA have both grown by a record 12% as a result. Optimiser 2015 has now been retired, as customers have all transferred onto other packages, with 34% of independent agents now subscribed to our premium Optimiser 2020 package. Over 35% of our customers continue to spend incrementally on new products on top of their core packages, with vendor lead products such as Rightmove Discover and Local Valuation Alert being the fastest growing products. Leads to agents increased by 12% on the comparable period, and Agency retention has been at a record high of 95%.

New Homes developers have continued to face the challenges of record demand for new homes, with some developments being fully sold off-plan, reducing developers' needs to market these properties. Nonetheless, New Homes ARPA grew by 9% in the first half, largely driven by our new Native Search Advert product which launched at the end of 2021.

Our smaller business units have all had double digit growth in the first half. Commercial real estate, in particular, grew by 20% on 2021, driven by the increased digitisation of the Commercial sector. The Overseas business grew by 30%, benefiting from the travel market re-opening post Covid restrictions.

Our focus on making the home moving journey more digital continues apace, with notable releases targeting the digital rental journey. The 'Lead-to-Keys' tenancy digital workflow was launched in June, which allows lettings agents to create contracts and generate offers, sign and store contracts digitally, and receive holding deposits via open banking. Further functionality will be introduced in H2. We also introduced our first open banking-based reference; increasing turnaround speed and reducing the input required from tenants. These two releases create a market first, with tenants able to search, secure and contract on a property entirely from their mobile device.

Preparations are nearly complete for the launch of our integrated, lender-backed Mortgage in Principle. Again, a market first, which will allow home-hunters to tailor their property searches, confident of a mortgage once they find the right property. In addition, this will generate better leads for customers, helping them to be more efficient

Our focus on environmental, social and governance matters remains high on our strategic agenda. Our near-term environmental targets are in the process of validation with the SBTi. 

Our teams underpin everything we do, and we are delighted to have successfully returned to our offices at least two days each week, to benefit from time spent together to enhance collaboration and build connections, while retaining the efficiency benefits remote working can bring. Our field-based teams have also returned to meeting customers face to face, which has been welcomed by the Rightmove teams and customers alike. We have continued with our popular "How to Thrive" wellbeing and personal development workshops, which have been enthusiastically embraced as everyone adjusts to a post-pandemic world.

Financial performance

Revenue

Revenue increased by £12.8m/9% year on year to £162.7m (2021: £149.9m) due to strong product uptake from customers, increasing ARPA during the first half of 2022. 

	H1 2022 £m	H1 2021 £m	Change vs 2021 £m	Change vs 2021 %
Agency	122.2	109.6	12.6	12%
New Homes	24.7	25.3	(0.6)	(2)%
Other	15.8	15.0	0.8	5%
Total revenue	162.7	149.9	12.8	9%

	30 June 2022	31 Dec 2021	30 June 2021	Change vs  Dec 2021	Change vs Dec 2021 %
Agency branches	16,116	16,110	16,052	6	0%
New Homes devs	2,818	2,859	3,064	(41)	(1)%
Total membership	18,934	18,969	19,116	(35)	0%

Agency revenue increased by £12.6m year on year to £122.2m, as we continued to see strong product purchase and package upgrades - as a result of the value our products deliver - and we secured core membership price increases through customers' contract renewal processes. Agency ARPA ⁽¹⁾ increased by £132/12% to £1,262 (June 2021: £1,130) and Agency customer numbers were flat on 31 December 2021, ending the first half of the year at 16,116 branches.

New Homes revenue decreased by £0.6m to £24.7m. The buoyant market meant that the New Homes' market remained forward-sold for the entirety of the period, with some developments not being advertised as a result. This was reflected in the gradual reduction in the number of developments listed - down by 41 in the first half of the year to 2,818. The impact of reduced membership was largely offset by strong product spend, with developers particularly investing in our new Native Search Adverts product. New Homes ARPA ⁽²⁾ increased by £117/9% to £1,446 per development per month (June 2021: £1,329). 

Other revenue increased by £0.8m to £15.8m. Commercial, Overseas, Data Services and Third Party all saw double digit percentage growth, with Commercial real estate, in particular, growing by 20% year on year. Growth in these areas was, however, largely offset by a £1.7m decline in Mortgage revenues as we moved away from our previous fixed marketing fee, towards a procuration fee model which has more long-term upside potential.

Administrative costs

Operating costs increased by £3.9m from £37.4m to £41.3m.

Underlying operating costs ⁽³⁾ (defined as operating costs before the inclusion of share-based payments charges and related national insurance) increased £5.1m to £40.2m (2021: £35.2m). The increase in costs is largely due to higher salary costs (£3.9m increase), reflecting ongoing investment in our product development and sales teams.

Operating profit

Operating profit increased by £6.4m to £121.3m (2021: £114.9m), with an operating profit margin of 75% (2021: 77%).

	H1 2022 £m	H1 2021 £m	Change vs 2021 £m	Change vs 2021  %
Revenue	162.7	149.9	12.8	+9%
Other income	-	2.4	(2.4)	(100)%
Administrative expenses	(41.3)	(37.4)	(3.9)	(10)%
Operating profit	121.3	114.9	6.4	+6%
Operating Margin	75%	77%

Underlying operating profit ⁽⁴⁾ of £122.4m, before the impact of the share-based incentive charges and related national insurance of £1.1m, increased by £5.3m/5% (2021: £117.1m), with an underlying operating profit margin ⁽⁵⁾ of 75% (2021: 78%).

The prior year results and margins reflected other income of £2.4m, a one-off credit representing the release of a contingent consideration provision in relation to the acquisition of Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services (previously Van Mildert) in 2019, as the threshold performance criteria for pay out were not met. Excluding the impact of the prior year other income, the comparative prior year operating margin was 75%, the underlying operating margin was 77% and the increase in the underlying profit in 2022 would be £7.7m/7%.

Earnings per share (EPS)

Basic EPS increased by 0.9p to 11.7p (2021: 10.8p), driven by the increase in profit and the share buyback programme, which reduced the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue to 841.5m (2021: 865.9m)

Underlying EPS ⁽⁶⁾ (based on underlying profit) increased by 7% to 11.8p (2021: 11.0p)

Summary consolidated statement of financial position

	30 June 2022 £m	31 December 2021 £m	30 June 2021* £m	Change from Dec 2021 £m
Property, plant and equipment	11.5	12.0	13.3	(0.5)
Intangible assets	21.7	21.1	21.6	0.6
Deferred tax asset	1.5	2.2	2.0	(0.7)
Trade and other receivables	22.6	23.1	22.0	(0.5)
Contract assets	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.3
Income tax receivable	0.9	1.0	0.1	(0.1)
Cash including money market deposits	43.9	48.0	67.7	(4.1)
Trade and other payables	(20.1)	(22.8)	(22.6)	2.7
Contract liabilities	(2.2)	(2.6)	(1.8)	0.5
Lease liabilities	(10 . 6)	(11.0)	(12.0)	0.4
Provisions	(0.7)	(0.6)	(0.6)	(0.1)
Net assets	68.9	70.5	89.8

*The comparative position as at 30 June 2021 includes a reclassification, applied to align with presentation at 31 December 2021 - see note 1

Rightmove's balance sheet as at 30 June 2022 shows total equity of £68.9m (December 2021: 70.5m). The cash position reduced to £43.9m, consistent with the continued returns to shareholders by way of share buybacks and dividends.

Trade receivables of £18.4m, included within trade and other receivables, are in line with December 2021 (£18.6m). Trade and other payables decreased due to timing of accruals. Trade payments continue to be made in line with contractually agreed terms.

Cash flow and liquidity

Rightmove remained debt-free during the period and cash generation remained strong, with cash generated from

operating activities of £122.1m (June 2021: £121.5m) and operating cash conversion in excess of 100% ⁽⁷⁾ .

The closing Group cash balance at 30 June 2022, including money market deposits, was £43.9m (December 2021: £48.0m).    Surplus cash continues to be invested in short-term, easily accessible money market deposits, including in a green money-market fund.

The Group bought back and cancelled 9.8m ordinary shares during the period (2021: 14.9m), at a cost of £60.0m (excluding expenses) as part of its ongoing share buyback programme (2021: £89.4m). Dividends totalling £40.3m in relation to the final 2021 dividend were also paid during the year (2021: £38.9m). 

Cash capital expenditure largely represents investment in intangible assets - primarily in relation to our new ERP system - and lease payments.

Shareholder returns

Consistent with the policy of growing dividends broadly in line with the increase in Underlying EPS, the Directors are recommending an interim dividend of 3.3p per ordinary share, which will be paid on 28 October 2022 to all shareholders on the register at 30 September 2022.

We intend to continue the share buyback programme in the second half of 2022.

Alison Dolan

Chief Financial Officer

(1)    Agency ARPA is calculated as revenue from Agency advertisers in a given month divided by the total number of advertisers during the month, measured as a monthly average over the year

(2)    New Homes ARPA is calculated as revenue from New Homes developers in a given month divided by the total number of developers during the month, measured as a monthly average over the year

(3)    Underlying operating costs are defined as administrative expenses before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance)

(4)    Underlying operating profit is defined as operating profit before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance)

(5)    Underlying operating margin is defined as the underlying operating profit as a percentage of revenue

(6)    Underlying EPS is defined as profit for the year before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance and appropriate tax adjustments), divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue for the period

(7)    Cash generated from operating activities of £122.1m (2021: 121.5) compared to operating profit as reported in the income statement of £121.3m (2021: £114.9m).

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Board and Audit Committee regularly review the principal risks to our business, our position against our risk appetite, and monitor progress to manage risks within that risk appetite.

Consideration is given to emerging risks and to any changes in the internal or external environment that could impact our strategy and how we operate. We regularly update our risks and responses where required. The Board and Audit Committee have reviewed the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Group.

Key risks

The risks set out in the 2021 Annual Report remain relevant for 2022. There has been no change to the definition of these risks since disclosed in the Group's 2021 Annual Report:

Risk	Overview/Description
Macroeconomic environment	The Group derives almost all its revenues from the UK and is therefore dependent on the macroeconomic conditions surrounding the UK housing market and consumer confidence, which impacts property transaction levels.
Competitive environment	The Group operates in a competitive marketplace, with attractive margins and low barriers to entry, which may result in increased competition from existing competitors or new entrants targeting the Group's primary revenue markets.
New or disruptive technologies and changing consumer behaviours	Rightmove operates in a fast-moving online marketplace. Failure to innovate or to adopt new technologies or failure to adapt to changing customer business models and evolving consumer behaviour may impact the Group's ability to offer the best products and services to its advertisers, and the best consumer experience to those using our sites.
Cyber security and IT systems	The Group has a high dependency on technology and internal IT systems. In today's digital world there are increased risks associated with external cyber-attacks which could result in an inability to operate our platforms. A security breach, such as loss of key data, may disrupt the efficiency and functioning of the Group's day-to-day operations.
Securing and retaining the right talent	Our continued success is dependent on our ability to attract, recruit, retain and motivate our highly skilled workforce. An inability to recruit and retain talented people could impact our ability to maintain our financial performance and deliver growth.

Further detail on these risks and the ways in which they are managed is available in the Rightmove plc Annual Report 2021.

Next trading update

Our next scheduled reporting date is 2 March 2023, when we will announce our results for the year ending 2022.

Statement of Directors' responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance with applicable law and regulations. The Directors confirm that the condensed consolidated interim financial information has been prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim Financial Reporting' and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

The interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by the Disclosure and Transparency Rules paragraphs 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R, namely:

·   an indication of important events that have occurred during the six months ended 30 June 2022 and their impact on the condensed set of financial information, and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the financial year; and

·   material related-party transactions during the six months ended 30 June 2022 and any material changes in the related-party transactions described in the Annual report and Accounts 2021.

The Directors of Rightmove plc are listed in the Annual report and Accounts 2021. A list of current Directors is maintained on the Rightmove plc website: https://plc.rightmove.co.uk .

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of, amongst other things, the financial and corporate governance information as provided on the Rightmove website (https://plc.rightmove.co.uk). Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial information may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The interim report was approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 28 July 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Peter Brooks-Johnson                                                                                     Alison Dolan        

Chief Executive Officer                                                                                   Chief Financial Officer

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
for the six months ended 30 June 2022

	Note	Six months ended 30 June 2022	Six months ended 30 June 2021*	Year ended 31 December 2021
		£000	£000	£000
Revenue	5	162,651	149,890	304,886
Other income		-	2,407	2,407
Administrative expenses		(41,312)	(37,392)	(81,193)
Operating profit		121,339	114,905	226,100
Operating profit before share-based incentive charge Share- based incentive charge	6	122,435 (1,096)	117,142 (2,237)	230,965 (4,865)
Financial income		100	12	20
Financial expenses		(226)	(248)	(471)
Net financial expenses		(126)	(236)	(451)
Profit before tax		121,213	114,669	225,649
Income tax expense	9	(22,842)	(21,374)	(42,555)
Profit for the period being total comprehensive income		98,371	93,295	183,094
Attributable to:
Equity holders of the Parent		98,371	93,295	183,094
Earnings per share (pence)
Basic	7	11.7	10.8	21.3
Diluted	7	11.7	10.8	21.3
* The comparative period ended 30 June 2021 includes a reclassification between Administrative Expenses to Other Income to align with the presentation at 31 December 2021.  See note 1.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
Company number 06426485
at 30 June 2022

	Note	30 June 2022	30 June 2021*	31 December 2021
		£000	£000	£000
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		11,498	13,316	11,990
Intangible assets		21,739	21,631	21,141
Deferred tax assets	9	1,512	2,016	2,169
Total non-current assets		34,749	36,963	35,300
Current assets
Trade and other receivables	10	22,588	21,961	23,112
Contract assets	5	371	150	120
Income tax receivable		866	65	1,057
Money market deposits		5,014	-	5,003
Cash and cash equivalents		38,923	67,686	42,985
Total current assets		67,762	89,862	72,277
Total assets		102,511	126,825	107,577
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	11	(20,121)	(22,644)	(22,757)
Lease liabilities		(2,319)	(2,138)	(2,177)
Contract liabilities	5	(2,164)	(1,765)	(2,633)
Provisions	12	(64)	-	(61)
Total current liabilities		(24,668)	(26,547)	(27,628)
Non-current liabilities
Lease liabilities		(8,305)	(9,867)	(8,832)
Provisions	12	(607)	(592)	(585)
Total non-current liabilities		(8,912)	(10,459)	(9,417)
Total liabilities		(33,580)	(37,006)	(37,045)
Net assets		68,931	89,819	70,532
Equity
Share capital		850	872	860
Other reserves		581	560	572
Retained earnings (net of own shares held)		67,500	88,387	69,100
Total equity attributable to the equity holders of the Parent		68,931	89,819	70,532

* The comparative position as at 30 June 2021 includes a reclassification, applied to align with the presentation at 31 December 2021 - see note 1.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

for the six months ended 30 June 2022

	Note	6 months ended 30 June 2022	6 months ended 30 June 2021	Year ended 31 December 2021
		£000	£000	£000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the period		98,371	93,295	183,094
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges		1,759	1,697	3,448
Amortisation charges		467	499	991
Financial income		(100)	(12)	(20)
Financial expenses		226	248	471
Non-cash gains		-	-	(84)
Gain on disposal of fixed assets		-	15	-
Share-based payments	6	1,358	1,940	3,923
Income tax expense	9	22,842	21,374	42,555
Operating cash flow before changes in working capital		124,923	119,056	234,378
Decrease in trade and other receivables	10	556	1,485	338
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables	11	(2,636)	3,046	3,832
Increase/(decrease) in provisions	12	25	(2,418)	(2,989)
(Increase)/decrease in contract assets	5	(251)	184	214
(Decrease)/increase in contract liabilities	5	(469)	195	1,063
Cash generated from operating activities		122,148	121,548	236,836
Financial expenses paid		(232)	(118)	(209)
Income taxes paid		(22,752)	(20,129)	(41,611)
Net cash from operating activities		99,164	101,301	195,016
Cash flows used in investing activities
Interest received on cash and cash equivalents		57	17	23
Increase in money market deposits		-	-	(5,003)
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment		(463)	(388)	(700)
Acquisition of intangible assets		(1,079)	(19)	(19)
Net cash from investing activities		(1,485)	(390)	(5,699)
Cash flows from financing activities
Net dividends paid	8	(40,306)	(38,898)	(64,447)
Purchase of own shares for cancellation	13	(59,981)	(89,374)	(174,369)
Purchase of own shares for share incentive plans		-	-	(1,284)
Share-related expenses		(421)	(577)	(1,224)
Payment of lease liabilities		(1,170)	(1,226)	(2,464)
Proceeds on exercise of share-based incentives		137	160	766
Net cash used in financing activities		(101,741)	(129,915)	(243,022)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		(4,062)	(29,004)	(53,705)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January		42,985	96,690	96,690
Cash and cash equivalents at period end		38,923	67,686	42,985

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
for the six months ended 30 June 2022

	Share capital £000	Own shares held £000		Other reserves £000		Reverse acquisition reserve £000		Retained earnings £000		Total equity £000
At 1 January 2021	887	(11,552)		407		138		133,265		123,145
		-
Total comprehensive income Profit for the period	-			-		-		93,295		93,295
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity		-
Share-based payments	-	-		-		-		1,940		1,940
Tax debit in respect of share-based incentives recognised directly in equity	-	-		-		-		178		178
Exercise of share-based incentives	-	469		-		-		(309)		160
Cancellation of own shares	(15)	-		15		-		(89,374)		(89,374)
Net Dividends paid	-	-		-		-		(38,898)		(38,898)
Share-related expenses	-	-		-		-		(627)		(627)
At 30 June 2021	872	(11,083)		422		138		99,470		89,819
At 1 January 2021	887	(11,552)		407		138		133,265		123,145
Total comprehensive income
Profit for the year	-	-		-		-		183,094		183,094
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
Share-based payments	-	-		-		-		3,923		3,923
Tax credit in respect of share-based incentives recognised directly in equity	-	-		-		-		928		928
Net dividends	-	-		-		-		(64,447)		(64,447)
Exercise of share-based incentives	-	1,248		-		-		(482)		766
Purchase of shares for share incentive plan	-	(1,284)		-		-		-		(1,284)
Cancellation of own shares	(27)	-		27		-		(174,369)		(174,369)
Share-related expenses	-	-		-		-		(1,224)		(1,224)
At 31 December 2021	860	(11,588)		434		138		80,688		70,532
At 1 January 2022	860	(11,588)		434		138		80,688		70,532
Total comprehensive income Profit for the period	-	-		-		-		98,371		98,371
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
Share-based payments	-	-		-		-		1,358		1,358
Tax debit in respect of share-based incentives recognised directly in equity	-	-		-		-		(759)		(759)
Exercise of share-based incentives	-	167		-		-		(30)		137
Cancellation of own shares	(10)	-		10		-		(59,981)		(59,981)
Net dividends paid	-	-		-		-		(40,306)		(40,306)
Share-related expenses	-	-		-		-		(421)		(421)
At 30 June 2022	850	(11,421)		444		138		78,920		68,931

NOTES

1   General information

Rightmove plc (the Company) is a Company registered in England (Company no. 6426485) domiciled in the United Kingdom (UK). The condensed consolidated interim financial statements ('interim financial statements') as at and for the six months ended 30 June 2022 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as 'the Group'). The principal business of the Group is the operation of the Rightmove platforms, which have the largest audience of any UK property portal (as measured by time on site).

The consolidated financial statements of the Group as at and for the year ended 31 December 2021 are available upon request to the Company Secretary from the Company's registered office at 2 Caldecotte Lake Business Park, Caldecotte Lake Drive, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes, MK7 8LE or are available on the corporate website at plc.rightmove.co.uk.

Basis of preparation

These condensed interim financial statements, for the six months ended 30 June 2022, have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting, under UK-adopted international accounting , and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority. They should be read in conjunction with the Group's last annual consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 31 December 2021 ('last annual financial statements'). The interim financial statements do not include all of the information required for a complete set of financial statements prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards. However, selected explanatory notes are included to explain events and transactions that are significant to an understanding of the changes in the Group's financial position and performance since the last annual financial statements. New standards and amendments effective from 1 January 2022 have not had an impact on the interim consolidated financial statements of the Group.

The interim financial statements were approved by the Board of directors on 28 July 2022 and the results for the current and comparative period are unaudited. The auditor, EY LLP, has carried out a review of the interim financial statements and its report is set out at the end of this document.

The interim financial information does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of sections 434 and 435 of the Companies Act 2006. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 were approved by the Board of Directors on 25 February 2022 and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors was unqualified.

Reclassifications within the comparative period of 30 June 2021

The comparative results for the six months ended 30 June 2021, within the consolidated interim statement of comprehensive income, includes a reclassification of other income (a one-off credit of £2.4m in relation to the release of a contingent consideration provision) from administrative expenses to other income. This aligns to the presentation in last annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021. There was no impact on earnings per share.

The consolidated interim statement of financial position as at 30 June 2021 includes two reclassifications which aligns the presentation to the 31 December 2021 financial statements and aides comparison between periods: the deferred tax liability (£1.0m) has been netted off within the deferred tax asset balance - as the assets and liabilities relate to income taxes levied by the same tax authority and the Group intends to settle the current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis - and the employee holiday pay provision (£0.6m) has been reclassified from provisions to accruals (see notes 11 and 12).

Alternative performance measures

In the analysis of the Group's financial performance, certain information disclosed in the financial statements may be prepared on a non-GAAP basis or has been derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but are not themselves an expressly permitted GAAP measure. These measures are reported in line with the way in which financial information is analysed by management and designed to increase comparability of the Group's year-on-year financial position, based on its operational activity. The key alternative performance measures presented by the Group are:

·   Underlying profit: which is defined as profit for the year before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance and appropriate tax adjustments);

·     Underlying earnings per share (EPS): which is defined as underlying profit, divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding in the period;

·   Underlying operating profit: which is defined as operating profit before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance);

·     Underlying costs: which is defined as administrative expenses before share-based payments charges (including the related National Insurance); and

·     Underlying operating margin: which is defined as the underlying operating profit as a percentage of revenue.

The directors believe that these alternative performance measures provide a more appropriate measure of the Group's business performance, as the share-based payments charge is a non-cash charge that is not entirely driven by the principal operational activity of the Group. The directors therefore consider underlying operating profit to be the most appropriate indicator of the performance of the business and year-on-year trends. A reconciliation of the underlying performance measures to the GAAP measures are shown below:

Underlying profit

 A reconciliation of the profit for the year to the underlying profit is presented below:

	6 months ended  30 June 2022 £000	6 months ended  30 June 2021 £000
Profit for the year	98,371	93,295
Share-based incentives charge	1,358	1,940
NI on share-based incentives	(262)	297
Impact on tax charge	(230)	(489)
Underlying profit	99,237	95,043

Underlying profit is used instead of profit to calculate the underlying earnings per share, which is underlying profit divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue for the period, whereas earnings per share is profit divided by weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue for the period (Note 7).

Underlying operating profit

A reconciliation of the operating profit to the underlying operating profit is presented below:

	6 months ended  30 June 2022 £000	6 months ended  30 June 2021 £000
Operating profit	121,339	114,905
Share-based incentives charge	1,358	1,940
NI on share-based incentives	(262)	297
Underlying operating profit	122,435	117,142

Underlying operating profit is used to calculate the underlying operating margin, which is underlying operating profit as a proportion of revenue, whereas the operating margin calculated as operating profit as a proportion of revenue.

  Underlying costs

A reconciliation of the administrative expenses to the underlying costs is presented below:

	6 months ended  30 June 2022 £000	6 months ended  30 June 2021 £000
Administrative expenses	41,312	37,392
Share-based incentives charge	(1,358)	(1,940)
NI on share-based incentives	262	(297)
Underlying costs	40,216	35,155

Going concern

The directors have performed a detailed and extended going concern review and tested the Group's liquidity in a range of scenarios, as set out below.

Throughout the period, the Group remained debt-free, strongly cash generative (101% of operating profit) and had a cash balance of £38.9m and money market deposits of £5.0m at 30 June 2022 (31 December 2021: cash balance £43.0m and money market deposits £5.0m).

The Group bought back shares to the value of £60.0m by 30 June 2022 (period ended 30 June 2021: £89.4m) and paid the 2021 final dividend of £40.3m in May 2022 (period ended 30 June 2021: £38.9m).

In stress testing the future cash flows of the Group, the directors modelled a range of scenarios which considered the effect on the Group of reductions of varying severity in the number of housing transactions for the period to 31 December 2023 ("the going concern period") and modelled the likely timing of cashflows from our customers during the going concern period. These included severe, but plausible downside scenarios. The model considered the impact of changes in the key drivers of the Group's revenues, including customer numbers and average revenue per advertiser (ARPA). In all the scenarios tested, the Group remained cash positive and debt-free.

The directors are confident that the Group will remain cash positive and will have sufficient funds to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for the period to 31 December 2023 and have therefore prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis.

2   Significant accounting policies

The accounting policies applied in these interim financial statements are the same as those applied by the Group's consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 31 December 2021. The policy for recognising and measuring income taxes is consistent with that applied in the previous interim period and is described in note 9.

3   Judgements and estimates

In preparing these interim financial statements, management has made judgements and estimates that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The significant judgements made by management in applying the Groups' accounting policies and the key sources of estimation uncertainty were the same as those described in the last annual financial statements.

4   Operating segments

The Group presents internal financial information that measures business performance to the Chief Executive Officer, who is the Group's Chief Operating Decision Maker.  This information is used for the purpose of making decisions about resources to be allocated and of assessing performance.

This financial information includes information on revenue performance and specific monitoring of trade receivable levels for each of the following business units:

• Agency which provides resale and lettings property advertising services on Rightmove's platforms;

• New Homes which provides property advertising services to new home developers and housing associations on Rightmove's platforms; and

• Other which comprises Overseas and Commercial property advertising services; non-property advertising services which include our Third Party advertising and Data Services; and the new mortgages business.

All revenues in all periods are derived from third parties and the disaggregated revenue is included within note 5.

The Chief Operating Decision Maker does not separately monitor segment profit, operating costs, financial income, financial expenses and income taxes for these areas of the business, instead monitoring this on a consolidated level. The Group therefore have one reportable segment, being the consolidated result and no further IFRS 8 disclosures are required.

5   Revenue

The Group's operations and main revenue streams are those described in the last annual financial statements. The Group's revenue is derived from contracts with customers.

Disaggregation of revenue

  In the following table, revenue is disaggregated by property and non-property advertising revenue. The table also includes a reconciliation of the disaggregated revenue with the Group's business units (see Note 4).

Six months ended 30 June 2022	Estate Agency	New Homes	Other	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000
Revenue stream
Property products	122,110	24,737	8,163	155,010
Non-property products	-	-	7,641	7,641
	122,110	24,737	15,804	162,651
Six months ended 30 June 2021	Estate Agency £000	New Homes £000	Other £000	Total £000
Revenue stream
Property products	109,532	25,328	6,600	141,460
Non-property products	-	-	8,430	8,430
	109,532	25,328	15,030	149,890
Year ended 31 December 2021	Estate Agency £000	New Homes £000	Other £000	Total £000
Revenue stream
Property products	224,490	50,026	14,211	288,727
Non-property products	-	-	16,159	16,159
	224,490	50,026	30,370	304,886

Contract balances

The following table provides information about receivables, contract assets and contract liabilities from contracts with customers.

	Note		30 June 2022 £000	30 June 2021 £000	31 December 2021 £000
Trade receivables (included in trade and other receivables)	10	18,430		18,215	18,645
Contract assets		371		150	120
Contract liabilities		(2,164)		(1,765)	(2,633)

The contract assets primarily relate to the Group's rights to consideration for services provided but not invoiced at the reporting date. The contract assets are transferred to trade receivables when invoiced and the rights have become unconditional.

The contract liabilities primarily relate to the advance consideration received from Estate Agency, Overseas and Commercial customers, for which revenue is recognised as or when the services are provided.

6   Share-based payments

The Group operates share-based incentive schemes for executive directors and employees: a Savings Related Share Option Scheme (Sharesave Plan) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) for all employees; a performance share plan (PSP) for Directors; and a Deferred Share Bonus Plan (DSP) for the Directors and selected senior management. There is also a restricted share plan (RSP) in operation which is awarded on an ad-hoc basis, based on service conditions only, for selected senior individuals.

Two new share-based incentive awards were made during the period to 30 June 2022:

• 241,089 PSP awards were granted on 3 March 2022 subject to Earnings Per Share (EPS) and Total Shareholders Return (TSR) performance. Performance will be measured over three financial years (1 January 2022 - 31 December 2024). The vesting on 3 March 2025 of 50% of the 2022 PSP awards will be dependent on the relative TSR performance condition measured over the three-year performance period, with the remaining 50% dependent on the satisfaction of the EPS growth target. The PSP awards have been valued using the Monte Carlo model for the TSR element and the Black Scholes model for the EPS element.

• 505,524 DSP nil cost shares were awarded to executives and senior management on 3 March 2022 following the achievement of the 2021 internal performance targets, with the right to exercise the shares deferred by three years until March 2025 (assuming service conditions are met). The DSP awards were valued using the Black Scholes model.

The total charge in relation to share-based payments for the six months ended 30 June 2022 was £1,096,000 (2021: £2,237,000). The charge in relation to the share-based payments relating to all share-based incentive plans was £1,358,000 (2021: £1,940,000). In addition, the related National insurance credit for the six months ended 30 June 2022 relating to all awards was £262,000 (2021: £297,000 charge).  

7   Earnings per share (EPS)

			£000		Pence per share Basic	Pence per  share Diluted
Six months ended 30 June 2022 Profit after tax			98,371		11.7	11.7
Underlying profit after tax			99,237		11.8	11.8
Six months ended 30 June 2021
Profit after tax			93,295		10.8	10.8
Underlying profit after tax			95,043		11.0	11.0
Year ended 31 December 2021
Profit after tax			183,094		21.3	21.3
Underlying profit after tax			186,815		21.8	21.7

  Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic)
                                                                                                                                           

	6 months ended 30 June 2022 Number of shares	6 months ended 30 June 2021 Number of shares	Year ended 31 Dec 2021 Number of shares
Issued ordinary shares at 1 January less ordinary shares held by the EBT and SIP Trust	857,732,339	884,234,565	884,234,565
Less own shares held in treasury at the beginning of the year	(12,480,472)	(13,285,490)	(13,285,490)
Weighted effect of own shares purchased for cancellation	(3,811,957)	(5,223,154)	(12,603,891)
Weighted effect of share-based incentives exercised	53,412	141,726	436,477
Weighted effect of shares purchased by the EBT	-	-	(11,640)
	841,493,322	865,867,647	858,770,021

Weighted average number of ordinary shares (diluted)
For diluted EPS, the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all potentially dilutive shares. The Group's potential dilutive instruments are in respect of share-based incentives granted to employees, which will be settled by ordinary shares held by the Employees' Share Trust (EBT), SIP Trust and shares held in treasury.

	6 months ended 30 June 2022 Number of shares	6 months ended 30 June 2021 Number of shares	Year ended 31 December 2021 Number of shares
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic)	841,493,322	865,867,647	858,770,021
Dilutive impact of share-based incentives outstanding	1,641,293	1,946,686	1,511,725
	843,134,615	867,814,333	860,281,746

8   Dividends

Dividends declared and paid by the Company were as follows:
                                                                                                                             

	6 months ended 30 June 2022		6 months ended 30 June 2021		Year ended 31 December 2021
	Pence per share	£000	Pence per share	£000	Pence per share	£000
2020 final dividend paid	-	-	4.5	38,900	4.5	38,900
2021 interim dividend paid	-	-	-	-	3.0	25,594
2021 final dividend paid	4.8	40,312	-	-	-	-
	4.8	40,312	4.5	38,900	7.5	64,494
Unclaimed dividends returned		(6)		(2)		(47)
Net dividends included in the statement of cash flows		40,306		38,898		64,447

After the period end the Board approved an interim dividend of 3.3p (2021: 3.0p) per qualifying ordinary share being £27,800,000 (2021: 25,594,000).

The 2021 final dividend of £40,312,000 (4.8p per qualifying share) was paid on 27 May 2022. It was £91,000 lower than that reported in the 2021 annual accounts due to a decrease in the ordinary shares entitled to a dividend between 25 February 2022 and the interim dividend record date of 29 April 2022.

The terms of the EBT provide that dividends payable on the ordinary shares held by the EBT are waived.

9   Taxation

The income tax expense of £22,842,000 (2021: £21,374,000) is recognised based on management's best estimate of the consolidated effective tax rate expected for the full financial year applied to the profit before tax for the six month period. The Group's consolidated effective tax rate for the six months ended 30 June 2022 was 18.8% (2021: 18.6%). The difference between the standard rate of 19.0% and the effective rate of 18.8% as at 30 June 2022 is attributable to the impact of the capex and the related super deductions.

The net deferred tax asset of £1,512,000 (30 June 2021: £2,016,000) comprises a deferred tax asset of £2,478,000 (2021: £3,023,000) and a deferred tax liability of £966,000 (30 June 2021: £1,007,000).

The deferred tax asset is in respect of equity settled share-based incentives and depreciation in excess of capital allowances. The deferred tax asset arising on equity settled share-based incentives was recognised in profit or loss to the extent that the related equity settled share-based payments charge was recognised in the statement of comprehensive income. The deferred tax liability is in respect of the intangible asset recognised on acquisition of Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services Limited. The deferred tax assets and liabilities as at 30 June 2022 have been calculated at a rate of between 19.0% and 25% depending on the expected rate that will prevail at the date upon which the net deferred tax asset will reverse in the future, based on substantively enacted UK tax rates.

10   Trade and other receivables	30 June 2022	30 June 2021	31 December 2021
	£000	£000	£000
Trade receivables	18,430	18,215	18,645
Less provision for impairment of trade receivables	(724)	(706)	(715)
Net trade receivables	17,706	17,509	17,930
Prepayments	4,755	4,452	5,028
Interest receivable	33	-	1
Other debtors	94	-	153
	22,588	21,961	23,112

11   Trade and other payables	30 June 2022	30 June 2021*	31 December 2021
	£000	£000	£000
Trade payables	2,138	1,931	3,056
Accruals	5,759	7,115	7,748
Other creditors	875	562	979
Other taxation and social security	11,349	13,036	10,974
	20,121	22,644	22,757

* The comparative position as at 30 June 2021 includes a reclassification, applied to align with the presentation at 31 December 2021 - see note 1 & note 12

12 Provisions 

		Dilapidations provision £000	Employee Provisions £000	Contingent consideration £000	Total £000
At 1 January 2021		562	666	2,407	3,635
Utilised during the year		-	(42)	-	(42)
Charged in the period		30	-	-	30
Released in the period		-	-	(2,407)	(2,407)
Reclassified in the period		-	(624)	-	(624)
At 30 June 2021*		592	-	-	592
Current		-	-	-	-
Non-current		592	-	-	592
At 1 January 2021		562	666	2,407	3,635
Utilised during the year		-	(666)	-	(666)
Charged in the year		84	350	-	434
Released in the year		-	-	(2,407)	(2,407)
Reclassified in the year		-	(350)	-	(350)
At 31 December 2021		646	-	-	646
Current		61	-	-	61
Non-current		585	-	-	585
At 1 January 2022		646	-	-	646
Utilised during the period		-	-	-	-
Charged in the period		25	-	-	25
At 30 June 2022		671	-	-	671
Current		64	-	-	64
Non-current		607	-	-	607

* The comparative position as at 30 June 2021 includes a reclassification, applied to align with the presentation at 31 December 2021, where employee provisions are reclassified to accruals within note 11 of Trade and Other Payables.

The dilapidations provision is in respect of the Group's leased properties where the Group has obligations to make good dilapidations. The non-current liabilities are estimated to be payable over periods from one to five years.

The Group accrues amounts in relation to employee related holiday pay (employee provisions), based on the estimated future payroll cost to the Group and has not been discounted as the time value of money is insignificant. In the prior year, the total amount was reclassified to be shown as an accrual within Note 11 Trade and Other Payables.

At the point of acquisition in 2019, the present value of the contingent and deferred consideration arising on acquisition of Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services Limited was £2,407,000. The fair value was reassessed at 30 June 2021 as nil, due to the possibility of meeting the threshold performance criteria within the remaining timescales, to the end of 2021, being remote. The consideration was released, at that point, to other income within the income statement.

  13 Reconciliation of movement in capital and reserves

Own shares purchased for cancellation
The total number of shares bought back in the six months to 30 June 2022 was 9,783,381 (2021: 14,881,349) representing 1.2 % (2021: 1.7%) of the ordinary shares in issue (excluding shares held in treasury). All the shares bought back in the period were cancelled. The shares were acquired on the open market at a total consideration (excluding costs) of £59,981,000 (2021: 89,374,000). The maximum and minimum prices paid were £6.89 (2021: 6.69) and £5.19 (2021: 5.52) per share respectively.

Own shares held - £000	EBT shares reserve £000	SIP shares reserve £000	Treasury shares £000	Total own shares held £000
Own shares held as at 1 January 2021	(1,825)	(3,415)	(6,312)	(11,552)
Share-based incentives exercised in the period	23	277	155	455
SIP releases in the period	-	14	-	14
Own shares held as at 30 June 2021	(1,802)	(3,124)	(6,157)	(11,083)
Own shares held as at 1 January 2021	(1,825)	(3,415)	(6,312)	(11,552)
Shares purchased for SIP	(1,127)	(157)	-	(1,284)
Shares transferred to SIP	1,127	(1,127)	-	-
Share-based incentives exercised in the year	273	560	383	1,216
SIP releases in the year	-	32	-	32
Own shares held as at 31 December 2021	(1,552)	(4,107)	(5,929)	(11,588)
Own shares held as at 1 January 2022	(1,552)	(4,107)	(5,929)	(11,588)
Share-based incentives exercised in the period	17	109	6	132
SIP releases in the period	-	35	-	35
Own shares held as at 30 June 2022	(1,535)	(3,963)	(5,923)	(11,421)

Own shares held - number of shares

	EBT shares reserve	SIP shares reserve	Treasury shares	Total own shares held
Own shares held as at 1 January 2021	1,395,476	757,575	13,285,490	15,438,541
Share-based incentives exercised in the period	(47,875)	(65,881)	(325,452)	(439,208)
SIP releases in the period	-	(2,325)	-	(2,325)
Own shares held as at 30 June 2021	1,347,601	689,369	12,960,038	14,997,008
Own shares held as at 1 January 2021	1,395,476	757,575	13,285,490	15,438,541
Shares purchased for SIP	148,147	20,278	-	168,425
Shares transferred to SIP	(148,147)	148,147	-	-
Share-based incentives exercised in the year	(237,058)	(133,200)	(805,018)	(1,175,276)
SIP releases in the year	-	(5,800)	-	(5,800)
Shares held as at 31 December 2021	1,158,418	787,000	12,480,472	14,425,890
Own shares held as at 1 January 2022	1,158,418	787,000	12,480,472	14,425,890
Share-based incentives exercised in the period	(34,790)	(27,935)	(13,298)	(76,023)
SIP releases in the period	-	(6,625)	-	(6,625)
Shares held as at 30 June 2022	1,123,628	752,440	12,467,174	14,343,242

(a) EBT shares reserve

This reserve represents the cost of own shares acquired by the EBT less any exercises of share-based incentives. At 30 June 2022, the EBT held 1,123,628 (June 2021: 1,347,601) ordinary shares in the Company, representing 0.1% (2021: 0.2%) of the ordinary shares in issue (excluding shares held in treasury). The market value of the shares held by the EBT at 30 June 2022 was £6,386,702 (2021: £8,745,930).

(b) SIP shares reserve

In November 2014, the Group established the Rightmove Share Incentive Plan Trust (SIP). This reserve represents the cost of acquiring shares less any exercises or releases of SIP awards. At 30 June 2022 the SIP Trust held 752,440 (June 2021: 689,369) ordinary shares in the Company of 0.1 pence each, representing 0.09% (2021: 0.08%) of the ordinary shares in issue (excluding shares held in treasury). The market value of the shares held in the SIP Trust at the period end was £4,276,869 (June 2021: 4,415,595).

(c) Treasury shares

This represents the cost of acquiring shares held in treasury less any exercises of share-based incentives. These shares were bought back in 2008 at an average price of 47.60 pence and may be used to satisfy certain share-based incentive awards.

Other reserves

This represents the Capital Redemption Reserve in respect of own shares bought back and cancelled. The movement in other reserves of £10,000 (2021: 15,000) comprises the nominal value of ordinary shares cancelled during the period.

Retained earnings

The loss on exercise of share-based incentives is the difference between the value that the shares held by the EBT, SIP and treasury shares were originally acquired for and the exercise price at which share-based incentives were exercised during the period. 

14 Related Party Transactions

Rightmove continues to undertake related party transactions with both Directors and subsidiary companies of the group. The related parties and the nature of these transactions remains unchanged from the Annual Report.

There have been no other related party transactions in the period to disclose.

ADVISERS AND SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

Contacts		Registered office	Corporate advisers
Chief Executive Officer:	Peter Brooks-Johnson	Rightmove plc	Financial adviser
Chief Financial Officer: Company Secretary: Website:	Alison Dolan Sandra Odell www.rightmove.co.uk	2 Caldecotte Lake Business Park Caldecotte Lake Drive	UBS Investment Bank Joint brokers
		Caldecotte Milton Keynes	UBS AG London Branch Numis Securities Limited
		MK7 8LE	Auditor
			EY LLP
		Registered in England no. 6426485	Bankers
Financial calendar 2022			Barclays Bank Plc
Interim dividend Full year results	28 October 2022 2 March 2023		Santander UK plc HSBC UK Bank plc Lloyds Banking Group plc Solicitors EMW LLP Slaughter and May
			Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
			Registrar
			Link Asset Services*

*Shareholder enquiries

The Company's registrar is Link Group. They will be pleased to deal with any questions regarding your shareholding or dividends. Please notify them of your change of address or other personal information. Their contact details are below:

Shareholder helpline: 0371 664 0300 calls are charged at the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international rate. Lines are open between 09:00 - 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England and Wales.

Email: [e-mail]

Signal Shares shareholder portal: www.signalshares.com

Address:   Link Group

10th Floor Central Square

29 Wellington Street

Leeds LS1 4DL

Shareholders can register online to view your holdings using the shareholder portal, a service offered by Link Group at www.signalshares.com . The shareholder portal is an online service enabling you to quickly and easily access and maintain your shareholding online - reducing the need for paperwork and providing 24 hour access for your convenience. You may:

-  View your holding balance and get an indicative valuation

-  View the dividend payments you have received

-  Cast your proxy vote on the AGM resolutions online

-  Update your address

-  Register and change bank mandate instructions so that dividends can be paid directly to your bank account

-  Elect to receive shareholder communications electronically

-  Access a wide range of shareholder information and download shareholder forms

INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO RIGHTMOVE PLC

Conclusion

We have been engaged by the Company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 June 2022 which comprises the condensed consolidated interim statement of comprehensive income, condensed consolidated interim statement of financial position, condensed consolidated interim statement of cash flows, condensed consolidated interim statement of changes in shareholders' equity and the related explanatory notes. We have read the other information contained in the half yearly financial report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements.

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 June 2022 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standard 34 and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

Basis for Conclusion

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements 2410 (UK) "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity" issued by the Financial Reporting Council. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

As disclosed in note 1, the annual financial statements of the group are prepared in accordance with UK adopted international accounting standards. The condensed set of financial statements included in this half-yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting".

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern

Based on our review procedures, which are less extensive than those performed in an audit as described in the Basis of Conclusion section of this report, nothing has come to our attention to suggest that management have inappropriately adopted the going concern basis of accounting or that management have identified material uncertainties relating to going concern that are not appropriately disclosed.

This conclusion is based on the review procedures performed in accordance with this ISRE, however future events or conditions may cause the entity to cease to continue as a going concern.

Responsibilities of the directors

The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

In preparing the half-yearly financial report, the directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's Responsibilities for the review of the financial information

In reviewing the half-yearly report, we are responsible for expressing to the Company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report. Our conclusion, including our Conclusions Relating to Going Concern, are based on procedures that are less extensive than audit procedures, as described in the Basis for Conclusion paragraph of this report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company in accordance with guidance contained in International Standard on Review Engagements 2410 (UK) "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity" issued by the Financial Reporting Council. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company, for our work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have formed.

Ernst & Young LLP

Luton

28 July 2022

 

 

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