What TheHouseShop.com does

TheHouseShop.com, operated by THS Group Ltd (incorporated in England and Wales, Company Number 09952974, in 2014), is a UK property marketplace that connects private sellers, private landlords, estate agents, online agents, and property developers with property buyers and tenants. The platform's distinguishing structural feature is its openness to direct homeowner and landlord listings — a capability unavailable on Rightmove and Zoopla, which accept listings only from professional estate agents. The company is headquartered in London at 85 Great Portland Street (First Floor) with a separate data-processing office at Suite 001, 6 Owen Street, and operates across the United Kingdom plus international subdomains for Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and the United States. Core users are organised around four primary personas — private sellers, private landlords, property buyers, and property renters — with estate agents and buy-to-let investors as secondary segments.

The platform is built as a web-based marketplace with free property listings (up to 20 photos with Google Street View), an automated feed-distribution system that pushes listings to partner portals, an email property alert engine, and identity verification before listing activation. Surrounding the core marketplace is a layered portfolio of optional paid add-on services: tenant referencing via Experian (RentScore), customisable assured-shorthold tenancy agreements, rent guarantee insurance, landlord content and building insurance (via Paymentshield), mortgage advice, survey and conveyancing quote comparison, removal quote comparison, flat-share listings, a guarantor service, end-of-tenancy cleaning referrals, and a free landlord advice line. The technology stack is built on commodity components — Google Analytics for behavioural tracking, Google AdSense for advertising monetisation, SagePay for PCI-DSS-compliant payment processing, and Zendesk for customer support — with no in-house AI or proprietary data layer described.

TheHouseShop runs a freemium marketplace business model: property advertising is free for private sellers and landlords, so revenue cannot be captured at the listing layer. Monetisation is derived from three streams — third-party display advertising monetising the 19 million annual visitors, optional paid services sold to landlords (referencing, insurance, tenancy agreements, enhanced visibility), and affiliate/referral fees from partner online estate agents (YOPA, Emoov, Settled, Doorstep.co.uk, Purplebricks, Easyproperty) and lead-comparison services (Netanagent.com). The company has no public listing, no disclosed parent, and limited disclosed funding, while the platform reports over 19 million annual visitors, more than 300,000 active property advertisements, and more than 50,000 registered landlords and tenants.

Name

TheHouseShop.com

Legal name

THS Group Ltd

Website

https://thehouseshop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TheHouseShop.com is a UK property marketplace that enables private sellers, private landlords, estate agents, online agents, and developers to list properties for free, connecting them with buyers and tenants — uniquely accepting direct homeowner listings unlike Rightmove or Zoopla.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Property Marketplace

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Seller Representation & Listing Services (BPAJAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Buyer Representation Services (BPAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Property marketplace
• Online property listings
• Estate agent comparison
• Tenant referencing services
• Landlord services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Third-Party Advertising: Revenue generated from displaying advertisements from third parties across the platform. Every property listing brings more visitors, makes the search more unique, and helps increase advertising revenue.
2. Optional Paid Services: Host of optional paid-for services offered to advertisers including tenant referencing, rent guarantee insurance, tenancy agreements, landlord insurance products, and enhanced listing visibility options. Some optional products and services available for advertisers to purchase subject to applicable charges.
3. Affiliate Referral Revenue: Affiliate tracking cookies credit partner sites when customers arrive through partner links, enabling commission-based revenue from referred transactions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TheHouseShop.com operates a UK property marketplace that enables private sellers, private landlords, estate agents, online agents, and property developers to advertise properties for sale or rent at no cost, connecting them with buyers and tenants. It differentiates from major portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla by accepting direct homeowner listings without requiring an estate agent, and monetises via optional paid services (tenant referencing, insurance, tenancy agreements, valuations) and third-party advertising.

Product overview

TheHouseShop.com operates a UK property marketplace platform that differentiates itself from major portals by accepting listings from both private homeowners/sellers and professional estate agents alike. The core platform is the Property Marketplace, where users can search and advertise properties for sale and rent. Around this core, the company offers a layered portfolio of free-to-use listing services (Free Property Advertising for sellers and landlords) alongside paid optional add-on modules including valuation tools, agent comparison, tenant referencing, tenancy agreement drafting, RentScore credit scoring, landlord insurance products, rent guarantee insurance, mortgage advice, survey and conveyancing comparisons, and flat share listings. Additional services span removal quotes, accessible property search, international listings, guarantor services, and end-of-tenancy cleaning referrals. The platform's revenue model relies on optional paid services and third-party advertising rather than charging for property listings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property Marketplace Core two-sided UK property marketplace platform connecting private sellers, private landlords, estate agents, online agents, and developers with buyers and renters; differentiates from Rightmove and Zoopla by accepting direct homeowner listings.
• Free Property Advertising Free property listing service for private sellers and landlords with no commission; supports up to 20 photos, Google Street View, and a step-by-step advert wizard.
• Tenant Referencing Service Credit check and tenant referencing service providing affordability calculations and reference reports to help landlords find reliable tenants.
• Tenancy Agreement Service Customisable Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement service providing example contracts to assist landlords in drafting agreements with tenants.
• Rent Guarantee Insurance Insurance product that protects landlords against loss of rental income; also offered as a 1 Year Rent Paid in Advance alternative service.
• Landlord Insurance Products Range of landlord insurance products including rent guarantee insurance, landlord content insurance, and landlord building insurance.
• Estate Agent Comparison Service Comparison service allowing users to compare high street, online, and top online estate agents and receive quotes.
• Online Property Valuation Free online property valuation tool to help homeowners arrive at the best selling price, with optional professional valuation.
• Mortgage Advice Mortgage broker service that guides users through obtaining a mortgage for property purchase.
• Survey Quotes Comparison service for home buyer reports and building surveys, allowing users to compare fees across providers.
• Conveyancing Quotes Service organising conveyancing for buying, selling, or remortgaging via partner providers.
• Removal Quotes Comparison Comparison service providing five competitive removal quotes in seconds for users planning a property move.
• Flat Share and Single Rooms Flat share and single room rental listings section providing affordable rental options for tenants on a minimal budget, paired with a Guarantor Service.
• International Property Listings International property portal covering Spain, France, Italy, Germany, United States, and other countries for cross-border property search.
• Renters Insurance Insurance product offering for tenants in the UK rental market, listed as part of the platform's renter services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 19 Million visitors per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Google AnalyticscoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Analytics is used to collect information about visitor behaviour on the site, tracking pages visited, time on site, traffic sources, and click data. This analytics data helps understand how users interact with the platform and informs service improvements.
• Google AdSensecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGoogle AdSense service serves advertising on the platform, using DoubleClick cookies to serve relevant ads and limit ad frequency. Behavioural advertising cookies track user interests to present appropriate advertisements.
• SagePaycoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing service used for handling transactions. SagePay processes payments under HTTPS protocol with SSL encryption. Third-party payment systems are PCI-DSS compliant.
• PaymentshieldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInsurance partner providing landlord insurance quotations. Data is shared with Paymentshield when landlords request insurance quotes through the tenant referencing or insurance services.
• ExperiancoreTechnology or IntegrationCredit reference agency partner for RentScore tenant referencing service. Experian uses rental data to assist landlords and organisations in assessing tenancy agreements, financial standing, identity verification, fraud prevention, and credit decisions.
• Tenant Referencing PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party referencing partners provide tenant referencing services via request. Personal details and tenant information are shared with partners to perform credit checks and generate reference reports.
• YOPA, Emoov, Settled, Doorstep.co.uk, Purplebricks, EasypropertyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOnline estate agents who receive property details and user information when customers request estate agent comparison service quotes. These agents contact users directly via email, telephone or other electronic communication.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OnTheMarket: UK property portal that explicitly competes for agent listings and buyer/renter traffic; functionally similar to TheHouseShop as a two-sided property marketplace, though it serves only estate agent listings (not direct homeowner listings) and is publicly listed.
• SpareRoom: UK flatshare and single room listings platform; comparable to TheHouseShop's flat share / single rooms offering and overlaps in the rental tenant and private landlord segments, particularly in flat share search.
• OpenRent: UK rental platform enabling private landlords to list directly for free, mirroring TheHouseShop's private landlord listing model; a closer peer on the rental/lettings side, competing for the same private landlord and tenant segments.

Emerging players

• Purplebricks: Online estate agent offering fixed-fee sales and listings; a comparison partner of TheHouseShop and overlapping in the private seller segment by offering a low-cost alternative to high-street agents, though operating a fundamentally different business model (agency vs marketplace).
• Netanagent: Estate agent comparison and lead generation platform that integrates with TheHouseShop's compare-agents service; comparable as a marketplace intermediary between property sellers and estate agents, addressing a similar private seller pain point.
• YOPA: UK online estate agent and TheHouseShop partner; overlaps in the private seller segment by offering low-cost alternatives to traditional estate agents and feeds leads into TheHouseShop's estate agent comparison service.

Broad incumbents

• Zoopla: Major UK property portal owned by Silver Lake and partly by Daily Mail Group; directly comparable to TheHouseShop as a UK residential property search marketplace, but broader in scope (also includes valuations, mortgages) and larger in traffic.
• Zillow: US-dominant property marketplace with international ambitions; comparable as a global category leader in residential property search, particularly relevant given TheHouseShop's United States subdomain offering, but with very different scale and scope.
• Rightmove: Dominant UK property portal and publicly listed (LSE: RMV) with multi-billion market cap; directly comparable to TheHouseShop as a property marketplace for sale and rent listings, but operates at vastly greater scale and serves only estate agent listings.

Regional players

• PropertyFinder: Property marketplace with operations across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe; comparable to TheHouseShop's international subdomains (Spain, France, Italy, Germany) as a multi-country residential property search portal, though focused on different geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thehouseshopuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheHouseShopdotcom

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TheHouseShop.com