Agencies & People
News covering the businesses, activities, people and personalities in estate agency and letting agency and wider residential property industry.
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Letting agent sentenced to three years in prison over £302,000 theft
Gambling addict and father-of-two Robert Parker stole cash from his employer Nina Lettings Agents in Barry, Wales over an eight year period.
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Estate agency quits high street AND Rightmove in same week
Cornish estate agent PDQ Estates is to close its branch in Helston and has quit Rightmove, its managing director Chris Wood has revealed. PDQ has been trading for 18 years from the address but Wood says that, after its lease came up for renegotiation, he decided to enact a long-planned strategy to take his business off the high street into action. The 51-year-old says much of his agency’s work is now done remotely on the road, on social media or at home and that this is a “logical move for our clients”. “If you know your local area well, know your job well, why in today’s world of social media, 3D and 4K photography, must you have a high street presence?” he says. “Whilst I will undoubtedly lose some business from more traditional sellers, I am confident I will be able to more than offset this in other ways.” PDQ is the third well-known agency to abandon the high street in recent months following both Orchards in London and national agency Humberts. Wood’s company has only ever operated one branch but his profile has been somewhat larger than his business. He helped Tesco develop its hybrid model during the mid-noughties,…
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Tenant fees ban impact will less than expected, says major estate agency group
Belvoir says the hit on its gross profits will be just 3% nine months after the tenant fees ban is introduced on June 1st.
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Exclusive pix: London estate agent opens hub and closes all its branches
West London estate agency Orchards says it decided to make the move after realising only a small percentage of its clients ever visited its four branches.
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Has online and hybrid estate agents’ market share grab run out of steam?
Figures from research firm TwentyCI reveals online and hybrid's share of the property markets has slipped by 0.4% to 7.2%.
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Part time estate agent’s singing wins judges’ approval on ITV’s The Voice
A contestant on ITV talent show The Voice has been revealed to be a part-time estate agent. 21-year-old Ilianna Yianakou was one of nine singers to complete ‘blind’ auditions for the live TV show on Saturday night. During the programme Ilianna earned a place on Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am’s team with her rendition of Location by Khalid. During her performance will.i.am bounced around in his chair before breaking into a standing ovation and telling Ilianna that he could “hear the quality” in her voice and praised her for adding “dynamics” to the song. Streets ahead Before gaining a place in the show’s line-up Ilianna has been working as an estate agent in Purley, near Croydon for seven-branch South London agency Streets Ahead. Before working in the property industry she attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Clapham and graduated with a 2:1 degree in music two years ago. On Instagram she revealed that she has spent the past year waiting for her turn on the show while also working for Streets Ahead. A camera crew from The Voice visited Ilianna at her branch on Purley High Street to film her working and followed her as she completed a local…
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Judges reject Gascoigne Halman appeal in OnTheMarket competition case
Connells-owned estate agency has ultimately failed in its expensive attempt to overthrow the July 2018 Competition Appeal Tribunal judgement.
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Leading deposit alternative firm rejects criticism by Jackson-Stops agent
Reposit says it has structured every aspect of its 'partnership processes' when dealing with agents to stop its product being offered in a way that could breach the tenant fees ban legislation.
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Gloves are off! Purplebricks launches aggressive attack on traditional agents in Oz
Local TV celebrity John Du Bois is recruited to front TV campaign that paints traditional agents as preening, Porsche-driving 'commission collectors'.
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PRS Group finishes 2018 on ‘property high’, 2019 set to be even better
The PRS Group, emerging as a major player in the UK’s property market, is ending its first year of business on a high as the sector continues to show promise.
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