Domain Group

Domain Group
Company typePublic company
ASX: DHG
IndustryReal Estate
Founded1999
Headquarters100 Harris Street,
Pyrmont
,
Australia
Key people
Jason Pellegrino[1] (CEO)
Brandsdomain.com.au; commercialrealestate.com.au; allhomes.com.au; pricefinder.com.au
RevenueIncrease A$289.6 million (2021)[2]
OwnersNine Entertainment (60%)
Number of employees
900+
Websitewww.domain.com.au

Domain Group (or simply Domain) is an Australian digital property portal and associated real-estate industry business. It is best known for its real-estate website domain.com.au, and also owns the brands commercialrealestate.com.au and allhomes.com.au. The company was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairfax Media from 1999 until November 2017, when Domain was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as a public company, although Fairfax Media (now Nine Entertainment) retained a 60% ownership of shares.

History

Founding

The company was founded by Fairfax Media, when the publisher branded their real-estate sections in print with the Domain brand and first established an online presence in 1999.[3]

Public listing

In February 2015, the Australian Financial Review published an article highlighting Credit Suisse analyst expectations of a likely float of the Domain Group in the future, and attributed an AUD $1.3 billion valuation to the group.[4]

On 21 February 2017 trading in Fairfax shares was suspended[5] until half yearly results and an announcement of intent to turn Domain into a listed entity were announced.[6] Domain Group was widely seen to "prop up" Fairfax revenues, as the company's publishing divisions were struggling.[7][8]

Domain began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on 16 November 2017, with shares opening at AU$3.80 giving the company, listed as Domain Holdings Australia (ASX:DHG), a valuation of nearly AU$2.2 billion.[9][10]

Cricket sponsorship

In June 2018, Domain Group were announced as platinum partner[11] of the Australian Men's Cricket Team.[12] Under the deal, Domain became the presenting partner of men's test cricket over four years, which included the Ashes, and became the official real estate partner of Cricket Australia.[13]

Description

The Domain Group is best known for its real-estate portal domain.com.au, which is Australia's second largest real-estate marketing business, with 90% market penetration.[14] It competes directly with market leader REA Group, running real-estate.com.au, which is majority-owned by Nine rival News Corp Australia.[15][16]

Assets

As of August 2023, The Domain Group consists of a portfolio of businesses[17] including but not limited to:

  • The Domain (domain.com.au) and Allhomes (allhomes.com.au) residential property listings portals
  • The Commercial Real Estate commercial property portal (commercialrealestate.com.au)
  • Domain Media media agency (domainmedia.com.au)
  • Domain Review, Domain and Domain Prestige magazines
  • Pricefinder, a property data business whose products focus on modelling projected values of real estate for investors, agents and financial institutions
  • RealTime Agent point of sale platform
  • Homepass estate agent CRM

References

  1. ^ Mason, Max; Whyte, Jemima (3 July 2018). "Domain taps Google's Jason Pellegrino as new CEO". Australian Financial Review.
  2. ^ "Domain Holdings Australia Limited 2021 Full Year Results Announcement"" (PDF). shareholders.domain.com.au. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ^ "domain.com.au: Property from Every Angle". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 27 November 1999. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Fairfax still likely to float Domain, Credit Suisse says | afr.com". afr.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Fairfax shares in trading halt ahead of Domain announcement". The Australian.
  6. ^ "Fairfax Media confirms Domain spin-off".
  7. ^ Meade, Amanda (19 February 2016). "Fairfax Media posts $27.4m profit despite lower print advertising revenue". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  8. ^ Ward, Miranda (19 February 2016). "Domain drives growth for Fairfax as company continues on path from print to digital". Mumbrella. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  9. ^ Bennett, Lindsay (16 November 2017). "Domain valued at $2.2 billion after listing on ASX". Ad News. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Domain listed on the ASX at noon". ABC News. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  11. ^ AAP. "Cricket Australia signs naming rights deal". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  12. ^ Duke, Jennifer. "'Domain Ashes': Real estate group partners with Cricket Australia". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  13. ^ McDonnell, Josh (25 June 2018). "Cricket Australia continues sponsor rebuild with new Domain deal". AdNews. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Domain starts year with big subscription growth – REB". rebonline.com.au. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Is Domain.com.au catching up to REA Group Limited? | Motley Fool Australia". fool.com.au. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Domain says it's 'no longer No 2'". The Australian. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Portfolio- Domain Group". domain.com.au.