Rightmove
UK's largest online property portal for home listings and search.
On the record
Checkpoint: Next procedural milestone in £1.6bn CAT antitrust claim over alleged dominance abuse
The call
Rightmove sits on the listing data and agent relationships AI search still needs, while a well-funded rival's relaunch has yet to dent its share.
Rightmove is the main website where people in the UK look for homes and where real estate agents list properties for sale. It is hard to replace because agents prefer to list on the biggest site (where the most buyers search), and buyers prefer the site with the most listings, which creates a self-reinforcing cycle that has repelled rivals like CoStar's OnTheMarket and even tempted acquisition by global giants. The biggest threat is that AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini could become how people search for homes instead of visiting Rightmove's website directly, especially if those AI systems get direct access to agent listings without going through Rightmove first.
Why
01
AI pressure: AI search assistants (Google Gemini AI Overviews, ChatGPT). AI answers surface property queries directly, but Rightmove still holds the underlying agent listing data they'd need to cite. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: CoStar Group (OnTheMarket). CoStar relaunched OnTheMarket with heavy spend to challenge Rightmove, but its own investors call the effort a fiasco so far. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Two-sided network effect: ~20,000 agent contracts and 80%+ of UK portal time spent on Rightmove, making a rival portal useless without both sides switching at once.
What would change this call
OnTheMarket/CoStar visit count closes to under 2x Rightmove's for two straight quarters. Would show CoStar's competing portal is genuinely eroding Rightmove's audience lead.
A major UK agency chain (e.g. Foxtons, Connells) announces a direct listings-feed deal with OpenAI, Google, or another LLM provider. Would show agents bypassing Rightmove's portal for AI-native distribution.
CAT ruling on the £1.6bn antitrust claim imposes structural remedies capping ARPA pricing, not just damages. Would show regulation directly constraining Rightmove's pricing power and moat.
A major UK agency chain (e.g. Foxtons, Connells) announces a direct listings-feed deal with OpenAI, Google, or another LLM provider. Would show agents bypassing Rightmove's portal for AI-native distribution.
CAT ruling on the £1.6bn antitrust claim imposes structural remedies capping ARPA pricing, not just damages. Would show regulation directly constraining Rightmove's pricing power and moat.
Key numbers
- FY2025 revenue £425.1m, up 9% year-on-year
- Average revenue per advertiser £1,621, up £97
- 80%+ of UK property portal time spent on Rightmove
Named risks
- £1.6bn opt-out antitrust claim over alleged abuse of dominance.
- AI capex/opex increases triggering investor skepticism and share price volatility.
- Direct-to-LLM agent listings partnerships bypassing the portal.
- New Homes market weakness flagged as a 2026 growth headwind.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Zoopla | losing to | 22.9M monthly visits vs Rightmove's 74-77M as of Nov 2025 |
| OnTheMarket (CoStar) | losing to | CoStar spent £46.5m/yr marketing since Dec 2023 acquisition without denting Rightmove share |
| REA Group | contesting | Made four takeover approaches up to £6.2bn Sept-Oct 2024, withdrew |
| AI search assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini) | contesting | Rightmove built Ask Rightmove and ChatGPT app integration in 2026 to hold distribution |
Questions people ask
- Is Rightmove profitable in 2025?
- Yes. Rightmove reported FY2025 revenue of £425.1m, up 9% year on year, with underlying operating profit up 9% and underlying EPS up 11%, as disclosed in results published 27 February 2026.
- Could AI replace Rightmove?
- Not yet evident. AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini still need Rightmove's exclusive agent-fed listings data, and Rightmove itself launched a ChatGPT app and Gemini-powered 'Ask Rightmove' search in 2026 rather than losing traffic to them.
- Who is Rightmove's biggest competitor?
- Zoopla and CoStar's OnTheMarket are the named rivals, but as of November 2025 Zoopla drew only about 22.9 million monthly visits versus Rightmove's 74 to 77 million, per Similarweb data cited in industry press.
- Is Rightmove facing legal trouble?
- Yes. On 16 April 2026 the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal published a £1.6 billion opt-out collective proceedings claim against Rightmove alleging abuse of dominance, covering roughly 7,200 agents and developers over six years.
- Did REA Group buy Rightmove?
- No. Australia's REA Group, backed by News Corp, made four unsolicited approaches valuing Rightmove up to £6.2 billion (781p a share) in September and October 2024, but withdrew on 30 September 2024 without a formal offer.
- Why did Rightmove's share price crash in late 2025?
- On 7 November 2025 Rightmove announced an accelerated AI investment plan (extra £12m opex, £6m capex for 2026), which triggered a roughly 28% intraday share drop and wiped over £1 billion off market value amid investor skepticism about near-term payoff.
Timeline
- 2026-07-09Ask Rightmove conversational search extended to individual property listings
- 2026-05-08Trading statement: 43 AI initiatives live, over 2,500 tech releases in 2026 so far
- 2026-04-16UK Competition Appeal Tribunal publishes £1.6bn antitrust class action against Rightmove
- 2026-04-13CoStar faces activist pressure over OnTheMarket/Homes.com strategy, stock down 43% YTD
- 2026-02-27FY2025 results: revenue £425.1m up 9%, £90m share buyback announced
- 2026-02-12Rightmove launches next phase of AI-powered property search (Ask Rightmove beta)
- 2025-11-07AI investment plan announced, shares crash ~28% intraday, over £1bn wiped off value
- 2024-09-30REA Group withdraws £6.2bn takeover approach for Rightmove
- 2023-12-01CoStar Group acquires OnTheMarket for approximately £110m
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Rightmove (LON:RMV) Revenue
- H1 2025 RNS (2025-07-24)
- Rightmove 2025 revenue up 9%, shares jump on £90 mln buyback (2026-02-27)
- Rightmove PLC (RTMVF) Full Year 2025 Earnings Call Highlights (2026-02-27)
- Could Rightmove be facing its biggest competitor yet? (2023-12-08)
- Rightmove Number of Employees
- Rightmove Number of Employees 2026
- Rightmove takes £1bn hit on AI spending plans (2025-11-07)
- 260508 Rightmove Trading Statement (2026-05-08)
- Zoopla CEO Has 'No Desire' For Portal War With Rightmove And OnTheMarket (2025-09-16)
- CoStar Scores Win As Activist Investor Drops Fight Over Homes.com (2026-04-13)
- Rupert Murdoch's REA Group Calls It Quits On Rightmove Acquisition (2024-09-30)