Online estate agent Purplebricks has reported soaring numbers of instructions, while still not disclosing how many of the properties it lists are actually being sold.

The number of new instructions at Purplebricks rose 83pc in the year to April 30. Its model asks for an up-front payment that is lower than traditional agents, with 'local property experts' valuing the property before it is then put up for sale.

The upstart, which last year entered the Australian market, is planning to launch its model in the United States in the second half of 2017.

In the UK, Purplebricks has still not reported a statutory profit, although it has forecast a profit in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation at its full-year results, which it will present on June 29.

The company claims to have an estimated 70pc share of the online estate agents' market, up from 40pc in 2015. Peel Hunt said it believed that Purplebricks would be the biggest estate agency in the UK within the next 12 to 24 months.