Purplebricks to donate £5 to charity for every home sold in Scotland

Purplebricks has pledged to donate £5 to motor neurone disease (MND) charity My Name’5 Doddie Foundation for each home it sells in Scotland over the next 12 months.

The charity was set up by Scottish former rugby union player Doddie Weir who was diagnosed with MND in 2017.

The online agent, which is also one of Scotland’s sponsors for the Six Nations, will be raising awareness of the foundation by displaying specially designed Sold boards featuring Doddie’s tartan on all sold properties in Scotland for the rest of 2019.

It has also made a £25,000 donation to the cause.

Michael Bruce, founder of Purplebricks, said: “Doddie’s frank and honest approach, vitality and courage is an inspiration for us all.

“We’ve been supporting Scottish rugby since the autumn internationals and, when we heard about the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, we wanted to get involved.”

Bruce said Purplebricks was the largest estate agent in Scotland, claiming it sells more houses, more quickly than anyone else, adding: “So what better way to help than using our Sold signs to promote Doddie’s foundation and donating every time we sell.”

Doddie added: “I was chuffed when I heard Purplebricks wanted to come on board and support the foundation.

“I love the idea of a patchwork of my tartan appearing all round Scotland as people sell their homes and move on to their new place.

“You never know what’s around the corner and everyone should live their life to the fullest, so, if you’re thinking of moving, do go ahead and help us tackle MND at the same time.”

Doddie Weir poses with one of the Purplebricks boards
x

Email the story to a friend



28 Comments

  1. JustPlainSavage04

    A good dead yes but give it a rest Purplebricks. Your good news stories that are trying to cover up the fact your business is failing won’t increase your share price. Id save the £5 for when you need to pay staff at Christmas.

    Report
    1. JVSOZ

      Hear, hear!

      Report
      1. Bless You

        They should give the 40% of fees they take and the vendor gets nothing in return to charity.
         
        Surprised scottish rugby will have anything to do with them. 
         
        Be like scotland being awarded a win before they even play wales! – pay any way / win any way . Not sporting. 

        Report
  2. GeorgeOrwell

    Cynical, shallow marketing ploy by Purplebricks.

    They could have simply donated without the cheap PR tactic.

    I donate money (as thousands of people do daily no doubt) to different charities/individuals and I don’t feel the need to publicise it, nor do I spin it for business gain.

    Sorry, my best wishes to those benefitting however Purplebricks are just cynically publicising themselves.

     

    Report
  3. Property Poke In The Eye

    That will be a fiver then!

    Report
  4. GPL

     

    Shameless, cynical PR by PB ……confirmed with the “SOLD” attached to the Board.

     

    Hang your head in shame Michael Bruce!

     

     

    Report
  5. GPL

     

    Michael Bruce?

     

    Explain to me, a Scottish person ……why are you neglecting people in England, Ireland & Wales?

     

    It’s purely & simply a cheap PR stunt.

     

    …….and when you spin the Negative publicity about why you only chose to donate in Scotland, by announcing you will donate across the UK etc, here’s the Headline…..

     

    ”Michael Bruce/Purplebricks shamed into making charity donation UK wide after singling out Scotland in cheap PR Stunt!”

     

    You SOLD out any degree of integrity you may have had Michael Bruce ….and the For Sale Sign that Doddie Weir is holding confirms that with your “SOLD” on it!

     

     

    Report
    1. ArthurHouse02

      They had to use a sold sign in the promo as people in Scotland have never seen one

      Report
  6. SLF

    A great cause and had it been any other company contributors on here wouldn’t have an issue. Many traditional agents help with charitable causes and raising awareness and many benefit from the boost in exposure/publicity.

    At the end of the day a good cause is getting much needed money and increased exposure….which has got to be a good thing.

    Report
    1. GPL

       

      Defend the Indefensible SLF.

       

      I’ve acknowledged the benefit to those affected however the cynical style of Promotion ……that diminishes any credibility that PB may have had.

       

      Any large/corporate Company that is so blatantly cynical in self-promotion deserves to be called-out.

       

      Let’s be absolutely clear, PB’s cynical action doesn’t take away from those companies that adopt the right/or appropriate “tone” when fund raising. Noting that PB is not donating the money, simply taking it from Sold proceeds, in which case dig a little deeper than £5 per donation Purplebricks!

       

      If anyone/or company cynically self-promotes they should anticipate that they can’t dupe everyone.

       

      ……and if you need to see my “Cynical Free Charity Record” SLF I’m happy to provide receipts for my private donations made quietly, without fanfare, without self-publicity and GUARANTEED CYNICAL FREE!

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Report
    2. SLF

      The exposure it will give this cause over the rest of the year is huge and I’m guessing the money raised (including the £25,000 they’ve already donated) will make a real difference.

      Working for an independent some years back we did an almost identical thing with a local hospice. We had nothing but praise for our efforts and we raised a lot of money.

      The cause is what it’s all about….not your irrational fear and dislike of PB.

      Report
      1. GPL

         

        “The cause is what it’s all about….”

        Yeah …….sure it is!

        You & PB missed the Morality Queue.

        “irrational fear of PB….”

        Nope …… just questioning their Morality when it comes to Marketing. I had no issue with PB’s Brand Marketing at the Scotland Rugby Match a few weeks ago – straightfoward brand promotion.

        Their “Sold” Board Promotion off the back of Charity Fundraising? …….it reeks of self-promotion 1st/charity 2nd!!! If you don’t see that or recognise that then you are as shallow as they are.

        As a Scot, I find it offensive that their Charity Fundraising in this instance/for this condition is confined to Scotland only? …..and for Houses Sold? A UK Company looking to find favour with just the Scottish Consumer off the back of Charity PR? …….it simply reeks!

        When you get a honest explanation shuffle back here and we can judge its credibility.

        In the meantime, I’ll celebrate a cracking business day, conducted with honesty & morality – 30 plus years of conducting my business that way. At odds with many of the Fake Agents stuck to the sole of Our Industry.

        Have a Purple Weekend SLF.

         

         

        Report
  7. Property Ear

    Wouldn’t the shareholders like a fiver each as well?

    They’ve had stuff all else yet!

    Report
  8. Woodhen

    At least the charity will find out how many houses they sell….or is the offer of donations subject to a non disclosure clause.

    Report
    1. Woodentop

      And us, yipppeeee. Or is it SSTC?

      Report
  9. Property Pundit

    Why not £5 for each instruction taken? We know they’re guaranteed the income and this would also avoid them having to reveal a total at the end of the year (from which keen people on here would be able to generate a listings > completion ratio).

    Report
  10. man perero

    Good cause ,  but to be worthwhile PB should be paying monies over on instruction not sale. After all that is when they charge the client. Also i have not come across selective giving…. MND strikes throughout the UK not just in Scotland , why not be truly charitable PB and give them money on every instruction you gain?

    Report
  11. Thomas Flowers

    A very good cause indeed. Well done PB!

    Or should I say well done to those that paid for a proper estate agency service they did not receive without whom they would have no ‘business’?

    Please do not spin this in any marketing?……..

    ie PB has donated £5 for every sale (Subject to Contract or Completion)?

    So far they have donated £25, 005 implying 5001 properties ‘Sold’?

    After all implication marketing is what PB do best?

    Call me cynical but many of their users who had to pay two estate agency fees may agree?

    Report
  12. cyberduck46

    I think the comments here demonstrate there are some very bitter Estate Agents around.

     

    A decent first 7 days of March for PB UK according to my proxy. 1400 listings compared to 1147 for the first 7 days of March 2018. That’s with fewer LPEs too.

     

    Still in the game by my reckoning.

     

     

     

     

     

    Report
    1. Woodentop

      As there are anti-agents.

      Report
    2. Property Pundit

      I think the comments here demonstrate that my views here are irrelevant

      There, fixed it for you

      Report
    3. GPL

       
      cyberduck46…….  
       
      Your bitterness shines through sadly. Akin to a Troll.
       
      Enjoy the rest of your Day.    
       
       

      Report
    4. Thomas Flowers

      Therein lies the problem Cyberduck.
       
      Actually needing to sell most peoples biggest asset to get paid is most definitely not a ‘game’.

      Report
  13. Londonbound

    To you lot it seems no matter what they do Purplebricks can’t win.

    But they are.

    Have a productive weekend.

     

    Report
    1. GPL

       

      Win at …….?

       

      Fake Estate Agency – Yes, Top Marks!

       

       

      Report
    2. Property Pundit

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

      Report
  14. Billy393

    Hell of a lot of bitter short sighted agents posting here. For the record I work for an independent in Derbyshire so am not biased towards Purplebricks. I am saddened more than anything at £25k+ being donated to charity and you turn it in to a witch hunt and negative. Have any one of you who have commented stopped to think for just one second that Doddie is welcoming of the publicity to attract even more donations for his worthy cause?!! When are you going to concentrate on your own businesses and clients as much as you do on Purplebricks??!!

    Report
  15. The Future Is Tech

    I think this is a brilliant idea. The UK business is in profit despite all the haters out there with nothing better to do with their time.

    I hope to see other areas in the UK benefit from their charitable actions. Well done Purplebricks, standing out for the better, finally giving agents a good name.

    Report
X

You must be logged in to report this comment!

Comments are closed.

Thank you for signing up to our newsletter, we have sent you an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Additionally if you would like to create a free EYE account which allows you to comment on news stories and manage your email subscriptions please enter a password below.