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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ZPG flexes muscles as OTM battles on
ZPG reports that 40 estate agent branches left OnTheMarket.com (OTM) and returned to listing with them over two weeks in October.
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Leaders expansion continues
Leaders’ latest acquisitions have taken its total number of branches to 123.
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Former Felicity J Lord branch manager wins unfair dismissal case
A London estate agent has won an unfair dismissal case against agency Felicity J Lord at a tribunal hearing this week during which comments by parent company Spicerhaart’s CEO were heard as were details of a complaint by Rightmove. Senior branch manager Abul Samad, 39, worked at the agency’s Bow offices in London but resigned in February last year because he believed the company had mismanaged an earlier disciplinary procedure against him over disputed commission payments. During the disciplinary process Samad claimed that Felicity J Lord bosses had instructed him to advertise houses online that were not for sale to help gain bonuses or commissions. He also claimed that Rightmove had complained to the company about the practice. When launching his claim in March, Samad also said the company was keen to make its results look as good as possible ahead of a possible stock market flotation, the Evening Standard has reported. Asad, who has since set up his own estate agency in London, also accused his former employer of racial and religious discrimination as well as victimisation over his whistleblowing, all claims that Felcity J Lord denied. Held at the East London Tribunal Hearing Centre, Samad’s tribunal ruled that he…
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Countrywide results: sales sag but letting business is booming
Countrywide says in its third quarter trading statement that changes to Stamp Duty and the EU referendum have ‘significantly’ reduced transaction levels and it now expects the number of homes it sells this year to be down 6% overall compared to 2015. The company says the additional Stamp Duty tax levied on landlords who purchase property and the uncertainty created by the referendum also helped reduce its revenue by 4.3% for the three months ending September 30th when compared to last year, from £197.1m to £188.5m. But it’s not all gloom; the number of homes it sold during the quarter only reduced by 1%, and year- on-ear the number of sales remains up by 7% although in London, like many other agents, Countrywide’s figures are brutal. Sales in the capital were down 29% during the quarter when compared to last year and down 11% overall. Countrywide’s lettings business proved a much happier place. It had 14% more properties under management compared to the same quarter last year after it focussed on landlord retention as a key initiative. The company’s mortgage business is also doing well; it arranged 19% more loans during the quarter than in 2015 and 30% more year…
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Connells’ expansion continues with three promotions
Connells Group has promoted three of its most successful regional business heads into newly-created national roles as chief executive David Plumtree’s aggressive business expansion plans continue during its 80th year of trading. Ian Fry, Giles Hart and Simon Arnes all hail from Sequence’s successful East and Central regional division, which they have grown into the company’s most successful one through a ‘collaborative approach to sharing knowledge, expertise and best practice’, the company says. Ipswich-based Ian was the region’s managing director while Norwich-based Giles has been its regional director. Both are now to be Group National Operations Directors while their colleague Simon Arnes, who was the region’s divisional managing director, becomes the Connells Group’s Estate Agency Operations Director. Connells is hoping the trio can replicate their winning formula across the whole company and grow the Group branch network and market share. “As well as recognising the talent within our company, these well-deserved promotions signal our commitment to strengthening the business and driving forward with further expansion,” says David Plumtree. All three of the promoted directors are long-standing Sequence employees. Ian joined the company in 1996 as a senior negotiator, Giles as a negotiator in 1999 and Simon as an office boy in…
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84 lots, £119m revenues!
A busy saleroom delivered a strong set of results at Andrews & Robertson’s September auction, at The Grand Connaught Rooms, London.
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Beresfords’ land and new homes expands
Beresfords has expanded its land and new homes team following record sales.
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Autumn optimism at Clive Emson
Clive Emson Auctioneers sold land and property worth £16.5 million at its September sale, with a catalogue of 138 lots achieving a 75 per cent sale rate.
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Who are the best paid CEOs in property?
In April this year it was revealed that Foxtons CEO Nic Budden had been awarded a 19% pay rise which is likely to boost his salary to £2.3 million for 2016, up from his 2015 salary of £856,000, making him one of the best paid CEOs in property. He is one of an elite group of business leaders in our industry who earn six and seven figure total pay packages and lead companies with thousands of employees from multi-agency group to the big portals. But except for Alison Platt of Countrywide and Alex Chesterman of Zoopla, this high-flying club of top executives is a largely anonymous and invisible bunch who rarely venture out into the public eye, and whose performances are rarely examined or discussed despite being responsible for the livelihoods of many thousands of property professionals. So how do they measure up – are their public limited companies doing well? 1. CEO: Mark Allan (until June), £2.4m Company: Unite Sector: Student accommodation Revenue: +10% Share price: -12% Profit: +260% 2. CEO: Nick McKittrick, £2.3m Company: Rightmove Sector: Portals Revenue: +25% Share price: +83% Underlying profit: +16% 3. CEO: Jeremy Helsby, £2.29m Company: Savills Sector: Sales and lettings…
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What will Countrywide announce next Thursday?
Countrywide has said this morning that it is going to make its third quarter management statement next Thursday, and there is now nervous debate among employees and shareholders about what Alison Platt and her executive team are going to reveal. The company has been through turbulent times over the past 18 months as its share price has dropped by two thirds from over £6 a share to £2 today. Several senior people have exited the business recently including, most notably, the managing director of its estate agency business Bob Scarff. Platt (pictured) has a difficult job ahead of her. The number of homes for sale in the UK have been dropping and many of Countrywide’s competitors have been suffering this year including Foxtons, which said it had seen sales in London reduce by a third in recent months. There are two rumoured directions in which Platt is planning to travel. The first is to reduce costs, which will reassure investors who traditionally bay for cuts in difficult times. Several major Countrywide brands have indicated they expect to drastically reduce their print advertising spend next year. But Platt is also said to be considering how to streamline the business which now numbers some…
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