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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Winkworth franchising grows
Winkworth’s two new offices in Banstead, Surrey and Poringland, Norfolk, are now open for business.
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How the once mighty HAS fallen: Foxtons share price drops to all-time low of just 62p
The share price of Foxtons, once lauded as the fastest-growing and most successful estate agency in the UK, yesterday sunk to an all-time low of 62p, only 3p shy of the sector’s lowest-value stock, Hunters. Foxtons’ shares have been haemorrhaging value since early April this year following a series of unremittingly gloomy trading updates that have revealed dramatic year-on-year plummets in profits and turnover. Its most recent update last month revealed that market conditions in the capital remained “very challenging”. Group revenues for the first three months of 2018 were £24.5 million, down from £28.7 million during the same period the year before. All parts of its business including sales, lettings and mortgage lending saw dropping revenues. This has led to many City investors ditching the company’s shares, which peaked in March 2014 at £3.89 when the company held an unassailable and increasingly dominant position in what was then a booming London market. foxtons share price Its current share price represents an 86% reduction from this peak following yesterday’s 4% drop in its share price. It’s been a bad few weeks for the company. Last month a national newspaper ran an unflattering story about a landlord’s experience with two nightmare…
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Over 60% of tenants offered insurance-based rental deposits take it up
Over sixty percent of tenants offered an insurance rather than cash-based rental deposit scheme at one of London’s largest new-build rental apartment developments have chosen to do so, it has been claimed. Criterion Capital, one of the UK’s largest Built-to-Rent operators and a major client of letting agent the Acorn Group, has made the claim for the first phase of its Delta Point scheme in Croydon, which eventually will bring 404 rental units to the market. The service is being provided by Zero Deposit, the Stevenage-based proptech firm co-founded by Jon Notley. “There is no question that Zero Deposit is helping to make our properties more attractive to potential tenants, speeding up the process and resulting in happier tenants when they move in,” says Karl Elliott, Head of Portfolio at Criterion Capital. Rental deposit Acorn Group, which includes four agent brands – Langford Russell, John Payne, Unique and Acorn – is one of South East London’s larger agency groups and has a total of 31 offices. All of these have now rolled out the Zero Deposit product. The agency was one of the four industry big hitters to give Zero Deposit its backing in February alongside Connells, LSL and Knight Frank.…
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Tenant creditworthiness platform CreditLadder passes 1,000-branch mark
Rental payment recognition platform CreditLadder says it now has over 1,000 letting agent branches who have tenants on the service, making it the most widely available in the UK’s rapidly growing market for creditworthiness improvement, it claims. Started up in 2016 and based in London, until recently CreditLadder was alone in the private rented sector but it’s been joined by several competitors since after, in December 2017, HM Treasury announced a £2 million Rent Recognition Challenge to help kickstart innovation within the creditworthiness sector. These include Bud, Canopy, MoveMe and RentalStep, all of which are now involved in a feisty battle for market share, and a slice of the £2 million government funding. As The Negotiator reported last month, Canopy recently signed a deal with the John Lewis Partnership to help its employees improve their credit scores. Rent default Many of these services, including CreditLadder, claim their service helps letting agents differentiate themselves in crowded rental markets, enables agents to offer landlords a ‘value add’ to their service, and that tenants using them are less likely to default on their rent. This helps agents and landlords attract more reliable renters, it is claimed. “We’ve always believed good behaviour should…
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Stunning sea view suits Swiss bidder
A property which had been in the same family ownership for over 50 years has sold at Network Auctions’ April sale for £225,000 to a bidder who flew over from Switzerland specifically to bid on the lot.
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Fenn Wright acquires Neals
Independently owned Essex and Suffolk based estate agents, Fenn Wright, has announced the acquisition of highly respected Woodbridge estate agent Neals and opened a flagship branch in the town. The office at Nunn’s Mill, Quayside forms part of the brand new Whisstocks development and is the tenth branch for Fenn Wright. The impressive premises has onsite visitor parking and is just a short walk from the Thoroughfare. Neals, established in 1951 by Dennis HB Neal, is perfectly aligned with Fenn Wright. The businesses will combine the best of modern agency practice, with unsurpassed local knowledge and outstanding customer service. James Neal, son of the founder, Dennis HB Neal, has 48 years’ experience selling properties in Woodbridge and the surrounding area. James will join Fenn Wright as an Associate Partner, working alongside Partner, Charlie Wright, in the Woodbridge branch. James said, “I am delighted to be joining the distinguished team at Fenn Wright at their magnificent new Woodbridge branch and becoming part of the Signature team, selling the most desirable town houses, country homes and properties with special character.” Charlie Wright, Partner at Fenn Wright added, “James is extremely well-regarded in the town and has unrivalled knowledge of the area.”
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Purplebricks USA speaks at workshop designed to help legislators prevent discrimination against online agents
Purplebricks USA says its appearance yesterday at a Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice workshop in Washington DC was in part to help the country’s legislators prevent traditional agents discriminating against online competitors. In the past the Department of Justice (DoJ) has been forced to intervene in the US industry and prevent ‘anti-competitive’ practices involving online/digital agents. This is in stark contrast to the UK, where the main portals have from the outset enabled online-only agents to list on their platforms. This has been despite agents being unhappy that some online operators have walked a thin line between being an agent and offering vendors and landlords direct access to the portals. In 2008 the DoJ sued the National Association of Realtors – the NAEA’s counterpart in the US – for blocking internet brokers, as online agents are called there, from the country’s property portals. This in theory freed up internet brokers to offer a pared-down, low-fee service via the same portals as traditional agents, and ultimately paved the way for Purplebricks to launch in America, but anti-competitive activities persist, according to commission-free property firm Trelora. During the workshop its CEO Joshua Hunt (pictured) said his company had endured “bricks…
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He’s off again! Adam Day leaves EasyProperty to join newly-enlarged Emoov
Hatched founder Adam Day says he was drawn to Emoov new No.2 position within the online agency market, after less than 12 months at EasyProperty.
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Letting agent spots an opportunity in town blighted by estate agency cartel
Weston Super Mare lettings agency Glentworth has opened a branch in neighbouring Burnham-on-Sea to combat "negativity" of agents discovered price fixing in the town last year.
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Purplebricks to be quizzed by US competition watchdog over its flat-fee business model
Purplebricks' CEO in the US Eric Eckhardt is to be quizzed by attorneys from the country's Federal Trade Commission about its business model and practices.
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