Purplebricks hit with winding-up petition from taxman
Purplebricks hit with winding-up petition from taxman
Joe SledgeThu, September 24, 2026 at 8:11 AM UTC
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Purplebricks was founded in 2012 by brothers Michael and Kenny Bruce - Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
Online estate agent Purplebricks has been forced to defend its accounting practices after being hit with a winding-up petition from the taxman.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) served the business with the court petition on Tuesday, legal filings showed, a move the company claimed was down to an “admin error”.
Winding-up petitions are generally filed by HMRC over tax bills which have gone unpaid for more than 21 days. They can lead to the forced sale of assets in rare cases although most litigants settle with the taxman before then.
Purplebricks – which is backed by Sir Charles Dunstone, an entrepreneur – hit back at HMRC over the speed of the winding-up order.
“We were surprised by the petition from HMRC,” a spokesman said. “We were in active dialogue on an admin error and only became aware of the filing of the petition once it had been submitted.
“To be clear, our liability for taxes as they are due have been dealt with and the petition is being withdrawn.”
A letter from BK Plus, the company’s accountants, said the “position with HMRC is an administration error and the matter has been resolved”.
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However, questions have also been raised about Purplebricks’ financial health after it failed to file annual accounts for the year ending March 2025 on time.
A spokesman for the company said this was because a new chief financial officer had been appointed and it was planning to file the accounts in the coming week.
Founded in 2012 by brothers Michael and Kenny Bruce, the business gained prominence by offering flat-fee property sales to challenge traditional high-street brokers.
It was backed at one time by Neil Woodford, the disgraced fund manager, and listed on the London stock market with a £1.3bn valuation but fell into financial difficulty after a botched expansion into Australia.
Sir Charles, who also backs struggling broadband operator TalkTalk, later took a stake in the business through his Strike venture in a deal with a nominal value of £1.
A Purplebricks spokesman said: “Our new leadership team have made big strides in the turnaround of Purplebricks and we are experiencing growth in all areas of the business.
“We remain fully focused on delivering for our customers and continuing to be the most innovative estate agency business in the UK.”
An HMRC spokesman said: “We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money.”
Source: “AOL Money”
