Dublin, 24th February 2022 – BidX1, Europe’s leading digital property investment platform (the “Company”), today announced the appointment of Michael Murphy, former CEO of Digicel Asia-Pacific, as Chief Executive Officer.
The Company’s Founder, Stephen McCarthy, will step down from the role after more than a decade at the helm.
McCarthy founded BidX1 in Dublin in 2011, kick-starting Ireland’s auction market via large-scale sale events in the RDS which regularly attracted thousands of attendees. He subsequently pioneered Ireland’s first fully online auctions in 2015 and has since brought BidX1’s model overseas; the Company entered the UK market in 2018, rapidly followed by expansion into South Africa, Spain and Cyprus.
To date, BidX1 has sold over 12,000 properties, or more than €2.5bn-worth of real estate. 36,000 bids were placed through the platform last year, resulting in a Gross Transaction Value of almost €500 million, while the total value of bids came in at €1.4 Billion.
Bidders in 2021 hailed from 33 countries, and over 30% of purchasers were repeat buyers.
McCarthy’s successor, Michael Murphy, benefits from a 25-year career spanning both national and international organisations, leveraging expertise in finance, complex operating environments, and digital transformation.
Prior to joining BidX1 in 2017, Murphy was Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Asia-Pacific, a telecommunications provider operating in more than 30 markets across the Caribbean, Central America and Oceania, with more than 3,000 employees. Prior to that, he held senior roles at Eir and Dairygold.
On his return to Ireland from Singapore, Murphy joined BidX1 as Chief Financial Officer, where his focus has been on the Company’s international expansion and the development of BidX1’s product offering.
The appointment comes as the Irish firm gears up for another phase of growth. Late last year, the Company announced strategic investments from two new shareholders: doValue, the leading Servicer in Southern Europe for loan and real estate management services, with €160 billion of assets under management, and Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm.
They join existing shareholders Pollen Street Capital, a London-based Private Equity firm which made an investment in BidX1 in 2018 to facilitate rapid international expansion, as well as McCarthy himself, who remains a shareholder.
Stephen McCarthy, BidX1’s Founder and outgoing CEO, commented: “I’m incredibly proud of the journey that we’ve taken in the past decade, from a successful Irish auction business to an international PropTech company with operations across five markets and two continents.
“With such high-calibre investors on board, BidX1 is well positioned for further exponential growth. It’s a very exciting time for the Company, and I’m delighted that Michael is taking the reins. He brings a wealth of experience, both domestic and international, but most importantly, he is passionate about using technology to improve real estate transactions across Europe.”
Michael Murphy, incoming Chief Executive Officer at BidX1, said: “Stephen has been the driving force at BidX1 since he first established the company in Dublin in 2011 and it is an honour to succeed him.
“BidX1 is on the way to becoming the go-to platform for investment opportunities across Europe – a platform which facilitates end-to-end online transactions. I joined BidX1 in 2017, during our first phase of international growth, and I am looking forward to working with our teams on the next stage of that journey.
“Growth in Southern Europe is a near-term priority for the business, while in well-established markets like Ireland, we will also be rolling out adjacent products and services to buyers and sellers.”
-ENDS-
About BidX1
BidX1 is Europe’s leading digital property investment platform. The PropTech company has built a digital platform which connects users across the globe with property investment opportunities in five markets and enables them to complete the entire transaction online using proprietary technology. Established in Ireland in 2011, BidX1 is the market leader in online property transactions; the company has sold more than 12,000 properties to date, raising more than €2.5 billion. 36,000 bids were placed through the BidX1 platform last year, with buyers from more than 60 countries to date.
BidX1 was recognised as a ‘Best Managed Company’ by Deloitte in 2021 and has received numerous other awards, including an Irish Times Innovation Award in 2018, and a KPMG Property Industry Excellence Award in 2019. For more information, visit www.bidx1.com.
For further information, contact:
Nicole Pomeroy, Chief Marketing Officer, BidX1
+353 (0)86 130 0717
