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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Tenant bargaining power grows
New figures from the National Landlords Association (NLA) show that tenants are securing a larger proportion of private rented homes in the UK at below, rather than above, advertised rents. The data shows that 16 per cent of private rented homes are let to tenants at below advertised rents, with eight per cent of homes being let to tenants at above the asking price. Three quarters (76 per cent) of private rented homes are let to tenants at the advertised rent. The difference means that tenants in the UK are benefitting from a net proportion of 8 per cent – or an estimated 320,000 – homes let at below advertised rents. The NLA’s analysis found that more than a quarter of new tenancies in central London (27 per cent) are agreed at lower than advertised rents, with the North East and outer London close behind (both 22 per cent). However, just nine per cent of properties in the East Midlands are let to tenants below the asking price. Yorkshire and the Humber and the South West are close behind on 11 per cent. At the other end of the scale, more tenancies in outer London are agreed above the advertised…
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Zoopla sees mobile traffic soar
Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) reports that its mobile traffic is up by over 40 per cent so far this year compared with the corresponding period last year as more consumers than ever use the Group’s services to search for properties while on the move. ZPG claims to have delivered a record 45,000 enquiries during the first two months of the year from prospective vendors requesting appraisals to ZPG member agents, supported in part by its appraisal tool which allows homeowners to contact local agents to arrange a valuation of their home. Lawrence Hall (left) of Zoopla Property Group said, “We’re delighted to see that the various product improvements and innovations we are making continue to result in record levels of engagement with our tool sand leads and instructions for our members, reinforcing the exceptional value that we provide.” Rightmove is another portal that has enjoyed growth in web visitors, supported by higher levels of mobile traffic. Over 100 million people visited the Rightmove site in January, a record month for the property portal, helping to boost profits. The company reported that it made an average of £684 per month from each estate agent branch that uses the service, up 13…
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Hamptons International acquires John Curtis
Hamptons International has this week announced that it has acquired John Curtis, a sales and lettings agency based in Hertfordshire. John Curtis, a well established agency with offices located in Harpenden and Wheathampstead, offers a full range of sales and lettings services. The acquisition of John Curtis demonstrates Hamptons International’s willingness and ambition of wanting to grow and strengthen its service further, according to Mark Goldberg (left), Head of Sales at Hamptons International. Commenting on the acquisition, he said: “We are delighted to start 2015 with such a strong acquisition. John Curtis is the leading sales and lettings agency in Harpenden and the surrounding area and will help to significantly strengthen our footprint in the Hertfordshire region, while bolstering our profile north of London. Today’s acquisition signifies a key part of the company’s strategic plan to expand its UK network, which includes 85 branches across London and the South of the UK.” Ken Whittaker (right), Director at John Curtis, which has been established in the community for over 40 years, also expressed his delight at the fact that his firm has now been integrated into the Hamptons International network. He commented: “We look forward to strengthening our position by being…
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Connells profits rise from £50.2 million to £63.2 million
The Connells Group has announced pre-tax profits of £63.2 million compared to £50.2 million last year, thanks in part to the Group’s decision to sell its shareholding in Zoopla Property Group plc following the successful flotation of Zoopla on the London Stock Exchange in June 2014. The result represents a 26 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the year and a combined 77 per cent rise over the last three years. “Today’s results see another outstanding year for the Connells Group. The housing market which started off strongly, cooled significantly in the second half however, due to our diverse offering and robust business model, we were able to get the best out of the market,” said Connells CEO David Livesey (left). “We are reaping the benefits of prolonged investment particularly in mortgage services, surveying and lettings,” he continued. “Demand for rental property has soared and to take advantage of this we have grown our operations through a combination of organic growth, cold start openings and acquisitions.”
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Hunters announces flotation plans
Hunters, the sixth largest UK’s estate agency group, has announced that it is planning to float on AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s market for smaller growing companies, later in the year – with the aim of expanding the network to over 500 offices in five years’ time. Hunters will aim to raise funds privately on a pre-IPO basis by inviting investors, including both staff and partners, to buy shares. Hunters is looking to raise up to £2.5million of new equity, to enable it to accelerate further growth. Hunters is one of the major players on the national property scene having opened its first branch 22 years ago in York. The network is mainly franchised and now has 128 branches nationwide in key cities across the UK including London, Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Middlesbrough and Liverpool. In 2014, Hunters opened 31 branches and increased the overall income by over 40 per cent. Hunters says that it has already invested millions in all areas of the business including staffing, training, marketing, technology, growth of the franchise network and premises to produce a first rate business with over 90% customer satisfaction rating; in comparison to the national industry average of 78%. In preparation…
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US giant Keller Williams launches in UK high streets
A fresh wave of competition is set to hit the UK’s high street estate agents as US giant Keller Williams opens two offices in the UK. Following another year of growth, productivity and profitability gains in 2014, Keller Williams now claims to be the largest real estate franchise by agent count in the world. The Austin, Texas-based company added a net gain of 17,000 associates in 2014, increasing its worldwide associate count to more than 112,000, and now it has its eyes firmly set on further expansion by opening an office in London and another in Leeds over the next fortnight. “We’re number one and we’ve just begun,” co-founder and Chairman Gary Keller (left) said. “Keller Williams truly is a company built by agents for agents,” he added. “We’re all agents. And we share the same mindset, values and vision.” Franchising of estate agents has long been big business in the US, but it is now growing increasingly popular here in the UK, as a growing number of national and international firms view the franchising route as the best possible way to expand their own businesses in the UK. Century 21, is another American real estate agent franchise company that…
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Sellers warned to beware of agents who list homes on OTM
Homeowners who want to sell their properties could miss out on potential buyers, as thousands of estate agents continue to stop listing homes on either Rightmove or Zoopla, as a result of OnTheMarket.com’s (OTM) ‘one other portal’ rule requiring their member agents to stop advertising on either website, Zoopla has warned. Various agents have in recent weeks stopped listing properties with Rightmove, but it is Zoopla that has been most affected by the new OnTheMarket website, with a larger share of agents opting to cancel their subscriptions to Zoopla, in accordance with OnTheMarket.com’s strategy. Ian Springett (left), Chief Executive of OnTheMarket.com, in a press conference recently, said that OnTheMarket “want to keep growing” and get to the “number two position” in the portals market “as quickly as possible” and at the expense of Zoopla. But by preventing their member agents’ from listing homes on both Rightmove and Zoopla, which between them get more than 100 million hits a month, Zoopla argues that OTM is restricting consumer choice and the potential market reach of those vendors and landlords trying to find buyers or tenants for their properties. Lawrence Hall (right) of Zoopla said, “Marketing a property as widely as possible is…
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Connells eyes ambitious growth strategy
Connells plan to open as many as 75 new lettings branches in 2015, as part of the firm’s ambitious expansion plans, having already enjoyed an exceptional year of growth in 2014. Connells Group’s multi-million pound lettings expansion programme continued to gain momentum last year after achieving a total of 68 new lettings branch openings and a growing number of lettings acquisitions in what continues to be one of the largest lettings expansion projects ever undertaken by a UK agency. “2014 was an exceptional year of growth for the Connells lettings business and 2015 shows no sign of slowing down,” said Stephen Nation (left), the Group’s Lettings Managing Director. “We had a record number of new branch openings, both in existing and new locations, achieved key acquisitions with a good geographical spread and appointed Mark Chatterton as Corporate Lettings Director to lead our growth. Our aim for 2015 is to continue this rapid expansion plan with a further 75 new lettings branches added to our local branch network.” Testimony to the Group’s already strong presence in the lettings market, Connells Group Lettings recorded a 20 per cent rise in the number of homes to let coming onto the market and a…
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Romans acquires Drummonds
The Romans Group last week announced another significant step in its expansion strategy with the acquisition of Drummonds in Caversham. Expanding its portfolio of estate and letting agencies has been high on the agenda for the Romans Group with seven successful acquisitions already under its belt over the past year or so and a £12 million finance facility from its bankers available for more business purchases. “Romans’ recent growth and ongoing success made it clear to me that this would be a smooth move that would really benefit my clients,” said John Grimes, Founder of Drummonds. “Their experience in the local market place really stood out to me and I know everyone will value the state of the art facilities and extensive advertising campaigns Romans offer from their Caversham branch.” The Caversham-based agency is now fully-incorporated into the Romans Caversham branch which has been established in the town since 2009. Many of the agents have worked in Caversham for over a decade and have vast knowledge of the local property market. As all acquired agencies, the team at Drummonds will now benefit from investment in Information Technology, training, intensive marketing and the numerous services also available to customers on top…
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Agents’ Mutual’s ‘one other portal’ continues to have an impact
Agents’ Mutual, the collective of estate agents launching a challenger property portal, OnTheMarket.com, with a view to breaking the so-called duopoly held by Rightmove and Zoopla continues to have an effect on the market with its ‘one other portal’ rule requiring their member agents to stop advertising on either Rightmove or Zoopla, despite the fact that the website does not launch until Monday 26th January 2015. In the past few days Chestertons has announced that that they will no longer be listing properties with Rightmove, while CKD Galbraith will be leaving the Zoopla Property Group (ZPG). Chestertons, a founding member of Agents’ Mutual, last week announced that it will be advertising on the Zoopla and Prime Location websites from January. It is widely acknowledged amongst the industry that Zoopla and its premium PrimeLocation website has taken substantial market share and is now the strongest performer in London. This is one of the main reasons for Chestertons choosing Zoopla Property Group. Robert Bartlett (left), CEO of Chestertons and a Founding Director of Agents’ Mutual said: “We have looked carefully at data collated over the past 12 months and the numbers clearly show that our properties get more views and our clients…
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