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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Estate agents face last orders as council steps in
An estate agency operating out of a 200-year old pub has been ordered by Westminster Council to vacate the premises this month or face formal action. The freeholder of The Star pub in St John’s Wood, West End Investments, decided to close the 200-year old pub earlier this year after acquiring the business in 2014, and let the premises to Champion Estates, sales and letting agents, in March after being refused planning consent by the local authority to convert the property into luxury flats. Addressing the press at the time, Gary Champion, Director of Champion Estates, said, “I’ve had people coming in asking for a beer and going away disappointed. It was a business, not a public service. We’re entitled to make a living like everyone else.” However, the decision to close the pub and replace it with an estate agency sparked outrage among many local residents and drinkers, which included music singers Sir Paul McCartney (left) and Liam Gallagher (below), especially as Westminster Council had listed the pub an Asset of Community Value. But the preservation order issued by the Council was described as useless by Tom Stainer, of the Campaign for Real Ale, who said, “This is just the…
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Help for letting agents to stay on top of immigration checks
Letting industry suppliers are already adjusting to the national rollout of immigration checks, announced in last week’s Queen’s Speech, to ensure that letting agents comply fully with the new measures. Let Alliance, a specialist tenancy reference and rent guarantee provider to the UK letting agency sector, has announced that it will be extending its Ultimate Global tenancy referencing service nationwide, following the Government’s decision to press ahead with a national rollout of immigration checks. The Ultimate Global tenancy reference takes full account of the Immigration Act, and includes Right to Rent certification; ID validation; follow-up checks for time-limited certification; Home Office checks; and residency confirmation – all done on a documented audit trail. The service was successfully trialled in the West Midlands, which is where the pilot scheme of immigration checks by landlords and agents was introducedlast December, but will soon be accessible by agents across the UK. Importantly, Let Alliance will “take full accountability” for the full referencing process, protecting all their customers against any penalty that may be applied by the Home Office if the tenant has completed the ‘Ultimate Global’ referencing process and met their criteria, according to Andy Halstead (left), CEO of Let Alliance. He said,…
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Zoopla loses nearly a quarter of its agents
Despite a significant increase in web traffic, a growing number of estate agents are cancelling their subscriptions to Zoopla to join rival site OnTheMarket.com (OTM). Shares in Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) dropped last week, after the firm reported that the number of estate agents listing their properties for sale and to let on the Zoopla website had dropped by 23 per cent over the past 12 months, largely due to the recent launch of OnTheMarket.com (OTM) which continues to have an adverse impact on its business. OTM, solely owned by the agents that list on the website, with more than 5,000 estate agency offices now signed up, has had a dramatic early impact on the market with its ‘one other portal’ rule requiring their member agents to stop advertising on either Rightmove or Zoopla, with the vast majority of agents opting to drop Zoopla. Ian Springett (left), Chief Executive of OTM, said, “Since our launch four months ago OnTheMarket.com has already taken almost one quarter of the estate and letting agent members from Zoopla Property Group. Less than 10 per cent of OnTheMarket.com’s member firms are using Zoopla as their other portal.” “In addition, OnTheMarket.com has already overtaken Zoopla in…
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Hunters and Belvoir expanding
Hunters, one of the largest independent networks of sales and lettings agents in the UK, has snapped up Country Properties adding another 23 franchised branches to its set-up. Sales and lettings agents Country Properties, founded in 1974 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, has developed into an established franchised operation, with strongholds in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Managing Director of Hunters, Glynis Frew (left), commented, “We are delighted to add such a reputable and well established group of branches to the Hunters network. The two companies share the same set of values and are united in our commitment to the franchise model that we feel produces higher levels of customer service and return.” The acquisition of Country Properties will enable Hunters to expand their presence and reach into new areas as well as welcome a group of industry accredited branches with professional franchise partners to their network. Glynis added, “Our franchisees are passionately committed to the success of their own businesses and will work hard to ensure they deliver what today’s customer wants. Local expertise, knowledge and professionalism to help people get to where they need to be – that is our motto.” The 23 Country Properties operations will continue to be managed…
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OTM is here to stay, says Ian Springett
OnTheMarket.com (OTM) has hit back at claims that its portal is struggling to establish any meaningful audience levels. Just over three months since the launch of OTM, competitor portal, Zoopla, has claimed that OTM is failing to have a significant impact on the market by citing data from independent web monitoring firm Hitwise which shows that website traffic to OTM fell by 13.5 per cent in April. But Ian Springett (left), Chief Executive of OTM, has described Zoopla Property Group’s (ZPG) claims as “inaccurate and speculative.” He said, “It is a fact that less than 10 per cent of the agent members of OnTheMarket.com have chosen Zoopla as their other portal. And it is a fact that the Hitwise figure showing a reduction in traffic of 13.5 per cent in April is wrong.” OTM reports that it has attracted more than 10 million visits since launching over three months ago, and that traffic levels have remained buoyant in May to the extent that OTM has just experienced its highest ever number of weekly visits. To date, OTM says that its users have viewed an average of 9.3 pages and spent an average of 6.5 minutes per visit. What’s more, with…
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OnTheMarket claims 10 million visits in three months
OnTheMarket.com (OTM) claims to have attracted 10 million visits since launching three months ago. The agent-owned portal, launched with a view to disrupting the portal business and breaking the ‘duopoloy’ held by Rightmove and Zoopla, says it has achieved 90 million page views since 26th January, supported by a very heavy advertising campaign on national TV, in the press and online. In the first 100 days since it launched, OTM’s TV advert has been aired more than 5,000 times and watched by 44.8 million people. Across print media, more than 100 press adverts have run and our online adverts have generated around 155 million impressions, while their pay-per-click campaign has delivered some 55 million more. During April, OTM says it received 3.5 million visits with an average of 9.31 pages viewed and an average of 6.5 minutes spent on the site by each user. It says the traffic information was generated by Google Analytics. The latest website traffic data claims from OTM contradict Zoopla Property Group, which has issued a number of press releases in recent weeks claiming that the volume of visitors to OTM has been in decline, and that agents listing their properties on the website are not…
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Countrywide acquires Greene & Co
Greene & Co, the London based estate agency, has been snapped up by Hamptons International – part of Countrywide PLC – for an undisclosed sum. Established more than 30 years ago in West Hampstead by Michael Greene and Noe Glasman, Greene & Co, which was the subject of a BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary a few years ago, has seven offices across the capital serving West Hampstead, Maida Vale, Crouch End, Belsize Park, Clerkenwell, Kensal Rise and Queen’s Park. The agency comprises sales, lettings, financial services, property management and new homes and investments. Greene & Co also has a sister company Urban Spaces; a specialist and expert team focused solely on residential loft spaces across London. The acquisition takes in all divisions of the agency and Urban Spaces. Having led the organisation for nearly 20 years, Managing Director of Greene & Co, David W Pollock (left), will step down from his role. Mr Pollock, who has played an instrumental role in the company’s success, acquired a controlling interest in the company from its Co-Founder Michael Greene. He then teamed up with property entrepreneurs Harry Handlesman, Founding Director of the ground-breaking Manhattan Loft Company and John Hitchcox, Founder of Yoo (a property venture…
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Estate agent becomes an MP
Kevin Hollinrake, Chairman and Co-Founder of Hunters Property Group, has been elected Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton with a 52.6 per cent share of the vote, replacing Anne McIntosh who stood down ahead of the General Election. Conservatives in the Thirsk and Malton constituency last year chose Hollinrake as their candidate for the General Election, seven years after he was selected to fight the marginal West Yorkshire seat of Dewsbury in 2007, but withdrew for business reasons a year later. Mr Hollinrake (left), from Easingwold, North Yorkshire, recently wrote an exclusive column for The Negotiator magazine, in which he said that it was a “lifetime ambition” to become an MP. He wrote, ‘My parents always encouraged us to take an interest in politics and current affairs and to share our opinions around the dining room table. I did not want to be a career politician, I first wanted to prove that I could be successful in business and think that gives me the credibility and experience to be able to help to improve things at a local and national level.’ At Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles has been replaced by Greg Clark while the Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis…
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Changes at Countrywide as senior Directors depart
The Managing Director of Estate Agency is stepping down, while the Group Commercial Director at Countrywide has already left the company. Bob Scarff, Managing Director of Estate Agency, who has over 37 years’ estate agency experience, will step down from his position at the company in the coming weeks.He started his career as a Trainee Negotiator at Taylors estate agents in 1978, when the company was under private ownership, and became the Managing Director of the UK’s largest estate agency network. A press statement from Countrywide said that Scarff, who will step down on 29 May 2015, “intends to pursue his own personal ambitions outside of the Group”. Nick Dunning (left), Group Commercial Director, has stepped down from his role at the firm, having been with Countrywide for seven years, most notably building the lettings business. The press statement from Countrywide added, “Nick is leaving the company to pursue other thingsat the end of April 2015”. This effectively means that he has already left the firm. Both businesses will report directly to Alison Platt and Chief Financial Officer Jim Clarke in the interim. Alison Platt (right), Chief Executive Officer, Countrywide plc, said, “Both Bob and Nick have built tremendous foundations…
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Zoopla acquires price-comparison website uSwitch
Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) has announced that it is to buy online price comparison site uSwitch in a deal worth up to £190 million. ZPG, which also owns a number of other websites such as Prime Location and Smart New Homes, said the agreed deal, at £160 million plus a performance-based earn out of up to £30 million, believe that the deal will help it deliver a wider property service to people seeking the best deals online. uSwitch, owned by Ulysses Enterprises Limited, enables consumers to find the best deals from utilities such as electricity and phone bills. It had revenues of £62.9 million and earnings of £16.2 million last year with 50.3 million online visits. It claims to have saved customers £112 million last year on energy bills alone. ZPG said that the deal to acquire uSwitch will allow its members to benefit from increased engagement with home movers and greater insight into their property requirements along with enhanced exposure to the further differentiated ZPG audience. ZPG is also developing new products that will create revenue opportunities for its members around home services switching. Alex Chesterman (left), Founder & CEO of Zoopla Property Group said, “This is a transformational…
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