Larne boss Tiernan Lynch insists he’ll not be reaching for the panic button, even though his boys have once again been muscled out of a title challenge by Belfast’s ‘big three’. Bankrolled by Purplebricks co-founder Kenny Bruce, the Inver Park club have made gigantic strides on and off the pitch, but have merely two County Antrim Shield triumphs and an Irish Cup final appearance to reflect on since the takeover in 2018. With the Danske Bank Premiership campaign now on the home straight, Lynch’s team find themselves a whopping 16 points adrift of table-topping Linfield. And, having been dumped out of the Irish Cup in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Ballymena United a fortnight ago, Larne’s only route to European football now rests with the end-of-season play-offs. They were even nudged off fourth place in the table — which guarantees home advantage for the semi-final — by Crusaders in midweek with two games remaining prior to the split. Although Larne haven’t won in the league since seeing off Dungannon Swifts on February 26, Lynch believes in his players, but admits they must develop a ruthless streak if they want to make an impression on the Premiership’s big boys. “If we want to go where we need to go, we need to be more clinical,” he said. Daily Headlines & Evening Telegraph Newsletter
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“That will be the difference in terms of turning one point into three over the remaining few games. “The only area we let ourselves down is in front of goal, so that must change, especially with the European play-off up ahead. “Our confidence is low at the moment. “What we now need to do is steady ourselves, don’t hit any panic button and keep working hard on the training ground. “We all believe in ourselves. We need to keep getting around each other and backing each other. “I’ve no doubt this group of players will fix the predicament we are in at the minute.”
Larne have had a 10-day rest since their last game when they conceded an injury-time equaliser at home to Glenavon which compounded their misery. That followed on from a shattering Irish Cup loss at Ballymena when they squandered a two-lead before losing in a dramatic penalty shootout. “We were hit with three sucker punches in a row,” explained Lynch. “We were winning against Coleraine and we conceded late on; we were winning against Ballymena and conceded stupid goals and it happened again against Glenavon. “In all three matches we had the opportunities to put those games to bed but we didn’t. “When things like that go against you, your confidence is low and you begin to question yourself. I think that’s where we are at the moment. “For me, there was only one game when we let ourselves down and that was against Ballymena, there is no question about that. “I’m not going to make any excuse about that performance — we let ourselves down badly, but to a man, we were superb against Coleraine and it was the same against Glenavon. “We should have won the (Glenavon) game by a margin of three or four goals, but we didn’t take our chances. We weren’t clinical and we were punished for it. “The players worked their socks off, so I’m not going to be critical of them. “Yes, people were disappointed and frustrated with the result, but those players gave their all.”
Larne now face another acid test when they make the short trip to the Loughview Leisure Arena to face erratic Carrick Rangers in this evening’s East Antrim derby. The Gers are just three points above the relegation zone but Lynch insists his men will focus on themselves. “The players are their own biggest critics,” he added. “I can never question their effort and commitment. Carrick have had some good results, but they have lost their way a little bit recently and find themselves dragged into a bit of a relegation battle. “It’s never an easy venue to visit, but we will focus on ourselves and our strengths. “Perhaps we have lacked a little bit of game management in certain games, but it’s not the time to be critical of the players. “I can say we are not getting the rub of the green, but that will be seen as me making excuses. We haven’t been clinical — that’s the bottom line.”
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Larne boss Tiernan Lynch urges his side to rediscover killer touch as race for Europe gathers pace

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Purplebricks chief to step down ‘due to personal reasons’

Purplebricks CEO to step down
Vic Darvey to leave role at head of London-listed PropTech due to personal circumstances as successor named
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Purplebricks CEO Vic Darvey is to step down due to personal circumstances. The London-listed digital estate agent said Helena Marston, currently chief operating officer, will become CEO effective from 4th April once Darvey leaves at the end of March. Marston joined Purplebricks in May 2020 as chief people officer and took over the role of COO at the end of 2021, having held several senior HR roles at Virgin Media, Kuwait Energy, Jaguar Land Rover and Vodafone, where she drove significant performance improvements in leadership and organisational culture. “I am excited to be given the opportunity to lead Purplebricks in the next phase of our journey. We have a fantastic brand and a great opportunity to accelerate our growth, providing the best experience for customers. I would also like to extend my best wishes to Vic and wish him well for the future,” Marston (below) said. Darvey has overseen a large-scale business transformation since joining in January 2019, as well as leading the firm during the COVID-19 pandemic. He oversaw the exit from the group’s loss-making international operations as well as the implementation of a new operating model for the UK business. Marston worked closely with him on the strategy and new business model – moving all field agents to fully employed status in 2021 – as well as implementing a number of the performance improvement initiatives. “On behalf of the board I would like to thank Vic for his leadership, energy and commitment to Purplebricks,” said chairman Paul Pindar. “He has guided the business during a period of considerable change and challenge, including building a strengthened senior leadership team focused on our tech-led growth. “We understand and respect his personal reasons for leaving and wish him the very best in the future. “I am delighted to welcome Helena to the board. Helena has shown impressive leadership since joining the executive leadership team and been responsible for implementing a number of our strategic initiatives. “I am confident she will drive the necessary performance improvements that are underway and deliver the growth ambitions of the company.”
Darvey said: “It has been a privilege to lead this business over the last three years. While I am sorry to be leaving at this stage in the company’s transformation, we have a great team in place and a clear plan which I have every confidence Helena will deliver. “I wish everyone at Purplebricks a happy and successful future.”

Purplebricks CEO to step down

The chief executive of Purplebricks is to step down at the end of the month after almost three years in the job and will be replaced by the online estate agent’s chief operating officer. Vic Darvey, who has led the group since May 2019, informed the board of his decision to leave “due to personal […]
The post Purplebricks chief to step down ‘due to personal reasons’ appeared first on Business Telegraph.

Purplebricks chief executive steps down after less than purple patch
Darvey oversaw the exit from the group’s loss-making international operations but a number of mis-steps have been made on his watch
Purplebricks Group PLC (AIM:PURP) , the floundering company that once sought to transform the UK estate agency market, said its chief executive officer, Vic Darvey, is quitting. Darvey, who took over as chief executive in May 2019 just four months after joining the company as chief operating officer, will leave at the end of the month to be replaced by Helena Marston, who is currently the group’s chief operating officer. The decision to step down from the role was said to be for personal reasons. Darvey oversaw the exit from the group’s loss-making international operations and the implementation of a new operating for the UK business. “He has guided the business during a period of considerable change and challenge, including building a strengthened senior leadership team focused on our tech-led growth. We understand and respect his personal reasons for leaving and wish him the very best in the future,” said Paul Pindar, the chair of Purplebricks. Under Darvey’s watch, the share price of Purplebricks has slumped from around 100p to 14.5p and the days when the stock was seen as a go-go glamour tech stock to match those usually quoted on the US’s NASDAQ exchange seem a long time ago. The group is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from over 100 former agents who believe they were entitled to the benefits given to permanent employees, despite being classed as self-employed. At the end of January, the AIM-listed firm reported a £20.2mln loss in the six months to October 2021 after having to increase costs as a result of making several sales staff permanent employees. In December, it was reported that Section 21 eviction notice errors by the online estate agent could lead to tenants claiming nine times their deposit as compensation. Purplebricks, which said it immediately stopped serving new Section 21 notices as soon as the mistake was identified, acknowledged the problem, calculating a potential risk in the range of between £2mln and £9mln. Red flags were perhaps raised for some investors when the company’s chief financial officer, Andy Botha, stepped down in October of last year having only joined in April 2020. Although things could hardly be said to have gone swimmingly under Darvey he was to borrow a phrase from football parlance, given a hospital pass when he took over. In keeping with many other UK companies drunk on success in their home market, Purplebricks elected (under previous management) to take its hybrid online/offline model to the US, where the estate agency market is very different. It did not take Darvey long to realise that the company would be throwing good money after bad trying to make a go of it in the US and closed the US operations at the end of 2019. The decision was taken just a few months after a similar decision to withdraw from Australia. An exit from Canada subsequently followed the retreat from the US. Purplebricks officially launched in 2014 and quickly became the leading online estate agency in the UK after investing hugely in marketing, including expensive TV adverts. It differentiated itself from competitors by charging a fixed fee for its service, rather than charging for services used on a “pick & mix” basis, which was the model favoured by most of its rivals. The “hybrid” part of the model basically referred to having a local estate agent who would meet the vendor face-to-face, thus the setting company apart from purely online operations where business would be conducted over the phone. At the peak of its success, the company was valued at more than £1.5bn; now, the whole kit & caboodle can be bought for £45mln with little prospect of any putative buyer being gazumped.

Purplebricks chief executive steps down after less than purple patch

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