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(In May 28 story, corrects surname to Forbes-Wilson in 7thparagraph)
* Estate agents seek to tap into equity, strong housingmarkets
* UK companies aim to emulate performance of European stocks
* Online estate agents could attract investor interest
By Esha Vaish
May 28 (Reuters) - The investors behind a handful of Britishestate agents are looking to take their companies public,encouraged by the strong performance of European property stocksand an election that removed much of the uncertainty from the UKhousing market.
Purplebricks and easyProperty are seeking to harness demandfrom funds with limited tools for tapping into a thrivingresidential property market.
With equity markets strong and house prices still on the up,these new kids on the block offer a less risky way into the UK's5.75 trillion pound ($8.78 trillion) residential property marketthan speculating on bricks and mortar, fund managers said.
Next year, about 1.30 million houses are expected to changehands in the UK, up from 1.18 million last year, according toproperty services company Jones Lang LaSalle.
The Conservative party's unexpectedly decisive victory inthe May 7 national election has added impetus to a market thatwas already forecast to improve on the back of low mortgagerates and economic growth.
The opposition Labour party, neck-and-neck with theConservatives in pre-election polls, had pledged measures whichcould have cooled demand, including an annual tax on high-valueproperties.
"Housing volumes should pick up quite materially from hereon, now that people have clarity on who's going to be governingus for the next five years or so," said Jamie Forbes-Wilson, whoruns the AXA Framlington Blue Chip Equity fund.
Relative to some European markets, there are few listedcompanies in Britain that provide investors with the kind ofexposure to housing offered by the likes of Germany's DeutscheAnnington and Deutsche Wohnen.
Looking to fill this gap are companies such as Hunters, theUK's sixth-largest estate agent, and easyProperty, the onlineletting agent co-founded by businessman Stelios Haji-Ioannouwhich plans a share placement or IPO this year.
Spain offers a glimpse of the potential: shares of MerlinProperties have risen 19 percent and Axia Real Estate 13.3 percent since each company listed last year toWednesday's close to snap up cheap assets after a six-yearproperty slump.
Asked whether he would put money into British IPOs, PatrickBrophy, portfolio manager at Janus Global Real Estate Fund,said: "Absolutely, we'd be interested."
'HIGH PROFILE, HIGH CREDIBILITY'
Purplebricks, backed by fund manager Neil Woodford, plansits IPO in 2016 and has hired Canaccord Genuity as adviser. Likeother online estate agents, it aims to win customers byproviding services at a fraction of the cost on the high street.
"(An IPO) will give us a high profile and high credibilityacross the UK," said non-executive director Paul Pindar, formerCEO of outsourcing group Capita Plc and owner of about 5percent of Purplebricks.
With much lower overheads, online estate agents enjoy anadvantage over their high-street rivals, some investors said.
"The cyclical nature of the sector would point me moretowards the technology-type companies, rather than thetraditional brick-and-mortar ones," said Wilson. "You don't wanta big fixed-cost base when things go wrong."
Valuations also compare favourably: popular propertywebsites Rightmove Plc and Zoopla Property Group Plc trade on EV to EBITDA multiples of 25 and 21respectively - about double that of traditional estate agents.
Simon Hampton, head of real estate deals at PwC, said onlineagencies could expect a similar advantage. ($1 = 0.6546 pounds) (Editing by Susan Thomas)
