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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Scanlans forges partnership with Pad Residential
Property management and surveying firm Scanlans has taken a 50 per cent stake in Pad Residential, a sales, lettings and management agency in Manchester city centre.
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Franchisees win a £15k car before even opening their Belvoir branch
A couple from South West London who are about to start-up a franchised branch of Belvoir on their local high street have received an unexpected boost to their fledgling business. Chantelle Harris, who has a background in sales but not property, along with her ex-London cabbie partner Darren O’Reilly, won a £15,000 branded Belvoir Mini at the franchise giant’s recent awards bash at a stately home in Oxfordshire (see above). The celebrity compere for the night, comedian Giles Brandreth, tweeted the moment when an incredulous Chantelle came on to the stage to pick up the prize (see below). First venture The couple’s first venture in property, a franchised branch in Bromley, is due to open next weekend in time for Easter and follows almost a year of training for the couple. “Previous experience in property management is not necessary, as Belvoir provides first class training for new franchise owners, and our franchise support team works extremely hard to ensure that they succeed,” says Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir’s Managing Director. “Belvoir franchise owners now have the option to launch a sales service, as well as lettings, and this is proving to be very popular with vendors, including existing landlords who wish to…
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Over half of tenants CHOOSE to rent, says survey
If you are annoyed by the constant government narrative that all those who rent are unhappy, failed home owners denied the delights of bricks and mortar by high house prices and unhelpful lenders, then research by London agent Benham & Reeves Residential Lettings should cheer you up. It interviewed 1,400 of its tenants in the capital, where it has four branches in North London, to ask them about why they rented – part of the largest survey of its customer base that the company has ever completed. Diverse mix London’s very diverse mix of tenant nationalities was revealed. Some 18% of the respondents were non-British residents working for a relatively short period in the capital – and therefore less likely to buy in London. Only 3.66% of those in the survey were renting because they had been turned down for a mortgage because they did not earn enough, while 5.76% had been turned down because their deposit was not large enough. Some 17.8% of those in the survey said they were saving up a deposit to buy a property. But over half of tenants in the survey classed themselves as ‘lifestyle’ renters with 24% saying they chose to rent because it…
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Leading independent agent vents outrage at yesterday’s Purplebricks ‘report’
Perry Power (pictured, right), a founding member of the Charter for Independent Estate Agents (CIELA), says he is “outraged” by a Purplebricks report published yesterday which claims that millions of vendors in the UK are being overcharged by traditional agents. The report, which quizzed just over 1,000 members of the public about their attitudes to estate agent pricing and service, was used to support Purplebricks’ claim that agents are ‘out of date’ and ‘out of touch’. “Purplebricks likening their online service to that of dedicated, passionate independent estate agents is like comparing two plastic surgeons when deciding to get major reconstruction,” he says. “One may be cheaper but only practiced the procedure twice, whereas the other costs more but has completed it thousands of times and has a brilliant reputation. Who would you enlist your trust in with something so important?” Shake up the industry “I applaud anyone who tries to shake up our industry, god knows we need it, but when it involves unsubstantiated comparisons…and bullying I can’t sit back and let a company with huge marketing spends try to take down the hard working independents. “Purplebricks should be applauding these people, but instead they surveyed a tiny fraction of the UK…
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Has Purplebricks own ‘commisery’ report backfired?
Purplebricks has moved into attack mode once more and produced a ‘commisery’ report that it says proves traditional agents are “out of touch, out of date and leaving millions out of pocket”. But it’s hard to find much data in the report to back up this contention. The report also appears to have avoided asking respondents what they expect to get for the much reduced fee that Purplebricks charges compared to traditional agents. Nevertheless, the report contains some worrying research for agents. This includes how only 5% of those buying or selling are concerned whether an agent has a high-street office, that house sellers are becoming more aware about alternative selling models, and that 68.9% of the public now know that they don’t have to “fork out” a percentage commission on the value of their property. It also says that the average commission among agents is 1.5% excluding VAT or £3,929 per sale. But the survey results don’t conclusively back up Purplebricks’ contention that traditional agents are out of date. 35% annoyed by cost The company talked to 1003 respondents three months ago, of whom 35% said they were annoyed by the cost of using an estate agent, but only 11.37% said…
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Auction figures fall but there are positives!
Auction activity reported in the EIG’s (Essential Information Group) March newsletter looks back at residential auction activity in February and the preceding periods.
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Belvoir confident 3.3m EU nationals will stay after Brexit
Property franchise giant Belvoir says the EU referendum vote last year failed to impact its business, unlike many of its rivals. It also believes that the 3.3m EU nationals living in the UK will continue to have the same right to live and rent in the UK after Brexit as they do now, so there will be “no foreseeable reduction in the current level of demand for housing”. The comments came in Belvoir’s 2016 annual report published today, which also reveals that it is now the largest UK property franchise firm following its purchase of rival Northwood GB in June. “The Belvoir Group has not suffered any negative effects as a result of the EU referendum result,” the annual reports says. Started in 1995 and floated on AIM in 2012, Belvoir now has 302 branches within its network, 110 ahead of its nearest rival, Martin & Co. This includes a handful of corporate offices, 150-plus Belvoir franchisees plus the branches within its recent acquisitions. These have been Newton Fallowell in the East Midlands with 30 branches and Goodchilds in the West Midlands with 14 branches, both in 2015. Then last year Belvoir acquired Nortwhood GB with 87 outlets. This buying…
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Love2move launches on Valentines Day
A husband and wife have combined their expertise to launch a new online dating style estate agency service.
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Go-to estate agent employer for graduate applicants revealed
Savills has been named Graduate Employer of Choice in a survey of over 20,000 applicants by The Times newspaper. Competitors JLL were placed second and Knight Frank third. The awards were held last week in London and presented by Martin Birchall from specialist market research company High Fliers. This is the 11th time that Savills has won the accolade from the newspaper, which also recently placed the company 94th in the UK within its other graduate rankings scheme, Top 100 Graduate Employers. This was the first time the company has been included in the list, which is topped by accounting giant PwC, and makes it the only agent to get into the rankings this year. Savills is coy about how much it pays its annual 170-strong graduate intake, but website Glassdoor.co.uk reckons Savills pays starter associates £36,275. Knight Frank pays £37, 169, the website says, and JLL approximately £31,000. Mark Ridley, CEO of Savills UK and Europe (pictured), says: “To have secured this award for the eleventh consecutive year is a tremendous achievement and one of which we are incredibly proud. “Furthermore, this prestigious recognition underlines the importance we place on offering a first class programme that provides our graduates…
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LSL Property Services leadership team awarded shares worth £1.25m
Agency giant LSL Property Services has awarded its core leadership team share options totalling £1.251 million, part of the PLC’s incentive scheme for senior staff. This includes Group CEO Ian Crabb (pictured, left) who receives vested shares worth (at today’s shares price of £2.10) £406,967 and Group CFO Adam Castleton (pictured, right(), who receives vested shares worth £294,700. Helen Buck (pictured, below left), who heads up the group’s Estate Agency business, gets shares worth £300,715. A further two directors – Jon Round, director of its financial services business and Ronan Jennings, who heads up its surveying business e.surv – receive shares totalling £192,000. The group can cash in the shares in two years’ time but to do so have been given targets that could prove difficult to achieve given current market conditions. Basic earnings per share must rise by 7.5% a year over the next 18 months, while total shareholder return must reach the median compared to its main competitors. Annual report LSL’s most recent annual report for 2016 reveals that adjusted basic earnings per share were down by 18%. The group, which includes agent brands Your Move, Reeds Rains and Marsh & Parsons, earlier this month reported group revenue…
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