★ WIDE MOAT STOCKS & COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES ★
VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
Rightmove plc
RMV · London Stock Exchange
Partial score covering 89% of segment weight.
Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.
Request update
Spot something outdated? Send a quick note and source so we can refresh this profile.
Overview
Rightmove plc operates the UK's leading online property marketplace. FY2025 revenue was split roughly 72% Agency, 18% New Homes, and 11% Other. The core moat is a two-sided network effect supported by very high share of consumer time spent on UK property portals; Agency retention and ARPA growth also support procurement inertia and pricing power. New Homes benefits from the same audience/listing loop, while adjacent commercial property, mortgages, rental services, and data products add optionality but lack separately demonstrated durable advantages. Key risks include intensified portal competition, legal/regulatory scrutiny of fees and market power, AI/search behavior changes, and cyclicality in UK housing market activity.
Primary segment
Agency
Market structure
Quasi-Monopoly
Market share
74%-87% (reported)
HHI: —
Coverage
3 segments · 6 tags
Updated 2026-07-12
Segments
Agency
UK residential property portal advertising subscriptions and lead generation for estate and letting agents
Revenue
71.7%
Structure
Quasi-Monopoly
Pricing
strong
Share
74%-87% (reported)
Peers
New Homes
UK new homes developer portal advertising and lead generation
Revenue
17.7%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
Other
UK property-adjacent digital services (commercial property advertising, mortgages/financial services leads, data services, overseas/third-party)
Revenue
10.6%
Structure
Competitive
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
Moat Claims
Agency
UK residential property portal advertising subscriptions and lead generation for estate and letting agents
Revenue share based on FY2025 results: Agency revenue GBP 304.7m of GBP 425.1m total.
Two Sided Network
Network
Two Sided Network
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Large consumer audience and listing inventory reinforce agent demand; agents/listings reinforce consumer usefulness.
Two Sided Network moat: definition, examples, and stocks
Erosion risks
- Deep-pocketed competitor scaling up via aggressive marketing and product spend
- Regulatory or legal action targeting fees or market dominance
- Agent consolidation increasing buyer power
Leading indicators
- Share of time spent on UK property portals
- Advertiser count and churn/retention
- ARPA growth vs inflation
Counterarguments
- Agents can multi-home across portals, reducing exclusivity
- A well-funded challenger could subsidize listings and buy traffic to close the gap
Procurement Inertia
Demand
Procurement Inertia
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
High partner retention alongside ARPA growth indicates agents feel compelled to remain due to lead volume, product breadth, and industry norms.
Procurement Inertia moat: definition, examples, and stocks
Erosion risks
- CoStar/OnTheMarket (or others) offering materially lower prices for comparable lead volume
- Large agency groups negotiating down pricing
- Regulatory interventions on fees or practices
Leading indicators
- Agency retention rate
- Upgrades to premium packages
- Average revenue per advertiser (ARPA)
Counterarguments
- Some agencies may cut spend in downturns or shift budget to performance marketing
- If competitor lead quality improves, procurement inertia may break faster than expected
New Homes
UK new homes developer portal advertising and lead generation
Revenue share based on FY2025 results: New Homes revenue GBP 75.3m of GBP 425.1m total.
Two Sided Network
Network
Two Sided Network
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Developers advertise where the largest buyer audience is; buyer audience is reinforced by breadth of listings.
Two Sided Network moat: definition, examples, and stocks
Erosion risks
- Developers reallocating budget to their own direct channels and performance marketing
- Downturn in new build volumes reducing advertiser count
- Competitors bundling incentives for developer listings
Leading indicators
- New Homes development count
- New Homes ARPA trend
- Share of time spent / buyer traffic levels
Counterarguments
- Developers can generate demand through alternative channels (own sites, social, search, broker networks)
- New homes advertising may be more price elastic than agency subscriptions
Other
UK property-adjacent digital services (commercial property advertising, mortgages/financial services leads, data services, overseas/third-party)
Revenue share based on FY2025 results: Other revenue GBP 45.1m of GBP 425.1m total.
Insufficient segment-specific evidence to assign a moat claim.
Evidence
consumer engagement, network effects and established partnerships
Annual report highlights network effects as part of the platform investment case.
Over 80% of all time spent on UK property portals in 2025 was spent on Rightmove
High share of consumer attention supports the demand-side of the marketplace and attracts/retains advertisers.
supported by strong retention (90%)
High retention suggests agents are reluctant to churn despite fee/mix increases.
Agency ARPA(4) increased 6%
Rising ARPA with stable membership supports pricing power and buyer inertia.
over 80% of all consumer time spent on UK property portals per Comscore
Latest trading update gives March 2026 attention-share figures of 87% from Comscore and 74% from SimilarWeb/Sensor Tower.
Showing 5 of 7 sources.
Risks & Indicators
Erosion risks
- Deep-pocketed competitor scaling up via aggressive marketing and product spend
- Regulatory or legal action targeting fees or market dominance
- Agent consolidation increasing buyer power
- Consumers shifting discovery to social media/search/AI assistants
- CoStar/OnTheMarket (or others) offering materially lower prices for comparable lead volume
- Large agency groups negotiating down pricing
Leading indicators
- Share of time spent on UK property portals
- Advertiser count and churn/retention
- ARPA growth vs inflation
- Competitor marketing spend and traffic growth
- Agency retention rate
- Upgrades to premium packages
Research RMV elsewhere
Keep the research going
More Rankings & Systems
Quality Stocks
High quality stocks ranked by profitability, margins, free cash flow quality, durability, solvency, and accounting...
Stock rankingUndervalued Stocks
Undervalued stocks from the NA & Europe universe, ranked with a multi-measure value system and quality controls.
Stock rankingDividend Stocks
Dividend stocks ranked by payout yield, payout sustainability, dividend growth, quality, balance-sheet safety, risk...
Stock rankingDefensive Stocks
Defensive stocks ranked by low volatility, low beta, intermediate momentum, durable profitability, balance sheet...
Stock rankingMomentum Stocks
Momentum stocks ranked by total return momentum, relative momentum, trend confirmation, and risk-adjusted momentum...
Stock rankingConviction 10
A concentrated 10-stock strategy from the NA & Europe universe, ranked across quality, value, growth, momentum, and...
Curation & Accuracy
This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).
Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.