Login
iscover
The ASX-listed real estate network is now searching for a new executive to lead the brand.
The board of The Agency has terminated the contract of CEO and group managing director Geoff Lucas, effective immediately.
A message to shareholders delivered on 9 August 2024 broke the news, with the firm noting that it would soon commence a formal recruitment process to find a suitable replacement.
In the meantime, CEO responsibilities will be shared by chief operating officer Andrew Jensen, real estate CEO Matt Lahood on the east coast, and executive director Paul Niardone on the west coast.
In its message, the board sought to assure stakeholders that the move would have “no impact on the day-to-day operation of The Agency or its people”.
The brand, which was founded in 2016 by Paul Niardone, hired Lucas after a stint at rival network McGrath in 2021.
At the time, both Lucas and the board expressed their desire to grow the firm exponentially, citing a strong balance sheet to support the move.
But an EBITDA loss $1.3 million out of the 2022–23 financial year certainly set a big task for the network’s executive team, even as it characterised the negative momentum as necessary for growth, owing to several strategic acquisitions undertaken over the year.
In the company’s last full-year financial report, Lucas advised that “the investments undertaken in FY23 which have contributed to an EBITDA loss will generate returns for many years to come”.
Even so, the task appeared to be in hand, with results from the first half of the 2023–24 financial year showing a positive result, with $0.56 million EBITDA recorded.
No reason for Lucas’ termination was given by the board to shareholders, or to REB, upon further request for comment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.