Zoopla Group has announced a hiring drive for its Product & Technology department despite the fact that earlier this month the company referred to referring to “unprecedented difficulties” when announcing tabled redundancies for those working in its software companies outside of London. The new hires will be based in London and it is unclear whether any of those set to lose their jobs at Zoopla’s other offices will be offered the opportunity to relocate into any of the new positions. Commenting on the recruitment drive, Chief Product & Technology Officer Dave Wascha said:
“We know it is a difficult time for the tech industry at the moment with many companies no longer recruiting. We want the tech community to know that we are very much open for business and that if you are ambitious, smart and obsessed with developing industry-changing products, Zoopla is the perfect place for you to call home.”
It certainly seems that the #2 British portal company is looking to centralise operations and more closely assimilate all the companies it has acquired over the years as part of its strategy to diversify in the face of Rightmove dominance.
In more Zoopla news, a new report released by the portal today claims that there is a supply and demand imbalance in the British property market much like what is being seen in the US. According to the latest figures from Zoopla, sales agreed are running 28% above pre-lockdown levels but supply is not keeping pace. The report also suggests that reports of a fundamental shift in consumer demand away from cities and towards rural areas of the UK has been overstated and that what is in fact being witnessed is just an increase in demand for more space and burgeoning demand in peripheral suburban areas within cities.