March 26 (Reuters) - Purplebricks Group Plc said onMonday German publisher Axel Springer has investedabout 125 million pounds ($177.65 million) for a 11.5 percentstake in the British online real estate agent, which is lookingto expand in the United States.
Shares in Purplebricks fell as much as 10 percent to 280pence on the London Stock Exchange.
The company said Axel Springer's investment, which includeda 100 million pounds subscription for new shares, would also beused to enter new markets and widen Purplebricks' serviceoffering.
Purplebricks ventured into the United States last year - itsthird market after Britain and Australia - by launchingoperations in Los Angeles. In 2018, it moved into San Diego,Sacramento and Fresno.
The company said in January it planned to enter the New Yorkmarket in the second quarter of fiscal 2018.
In Britain, Purplebricks and other online estate agents havechallenged traditional operators such as Countrywide andFoxtons, which are struggling as the market cools dueto uncertainties in the wake of Brexit.
However, Purplebricks warned its group revenues for the yearending April 30 would be around 5 percent lower than itsconsensus of 98 million pounds due to weak market conditions inthe UK, which has been worsened by poor weather.
Both Australia and the United States are on course to atleast meet its full-year revenue expectations, the company said.
($1 = 0.7036 pounds)(Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; Editing byArun Koyyur)
