Rightmove, the property search website, will sack 20 per cent of its staff to save £5 million as UK property sales slow to a trickle and estate agents' business dries up.

Rightmove generates most of its revenues from fees paid by estate agents to advertise on its website but an online poll earlier this month showed that more than 75 per cent of UK estate agents are threatening to remove properties currently listed on the Rightmove website.

The survey, by estateagenttoday.co.uk, found that more than three quarters of estate agents are not planning to renew their annual subscription to the site because its fees, which can be as high as £500 a month per estate agent, are considered too expensive.

In August, new listings on rightmove.co.uk were just 106,000, about 25 per cent lower than usually seen at the same time of year.

Rightmove management said that it plans to spend around £1 million on marketing and focus more on national and regional house builders and the growing housing association market. It will also cut back on its continental Europe business.

The company said that the redundancies were in response to the downturn in the UK housing market. Management added: “The scale reflects the Company's view that the current challenges will continue through 2009, though not at any worse level than we have previously indicated.”

Most of the fired employees are on one month’s notice so restructuring charges should be limited.

Rightmove's share price was down 8.4 per cent at 9am this morning. It has already plunged by more than 56 per cent this year.

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