Property search website Rightmove said it planned to cut staff numbers by 20% to cope with the housing market slump.

The group said the redundancies were part of plans to cut costs by £5 million, reflecting its view that the "current challenges will continue through 2009".

Rightmove also said it was scaling back its overseas operations but it may increase its marketing budget by up to £1 million.

Rightmove said the job cuts were the first it has made as a result of the downturn in the housing market. The company employs around 300 people.

Given the decreased demand for property in continental Europe, the group said it would be scaling back the Rightmove Overseas business.

The group's website currently advertises more than 50,000 overseas properties in more than 100 countries, including Spain, France and the US.

The company, launched in 2000, said its changes were aimed at "increasing focus on its core UK property advertising business".

It announced plans for "greater focus on the national and regional house-builders as well as the growing housing association market with less focus on more speculative individual developments and property conversions".

The group intends to reduce overheads generally as a result of tough conditions across the property industry.

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