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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Belvoir Acquisitions
Following Belvoir’s recent acquisition of Northwood, the company has announced the partial funding of a further four franchisee-led acquisitions and the expansion of its acquisition programme to other brands within the group.
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Purplebricks results: company reports first profits despite ‘challenging’ market
Purplebricks has revealed its latest financial results for this year covering the key post-Brexit months from May to October, which have produced its first profits since launching in 2015. The results released this morning show that the business generated a profit of £300,000 compared to a loss of £600,00 during the same six-month period last year. The company says it is also on course to reach its target Local Property Expert total of 340 by the end of this year. But while it has also increased its revenue per customer by 20.6% to £1,000 and reported a 108% increase in instructions, Purplebricks says the property market is a “challenging” place to do business. This has helped slow its earlier spectacular growth. The company generated revenue of £18.7m during the period, up 159% up on last year although not the extraordinary 448% growth it revealed when it last reported in May. Cost of sales have also increased from £3.1 million to £8.3m compared to the same period last year, although how much it spends on sales and marketing stayed the same. “Although we recognise that the UK market backdrop is tough, we continue to have a confident outlook for the future,”…
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FINE & COUNTRY SHREWSBURY OPENS
Fine & Country has opened a new office in Shrewsbury joining the luxury homes network of estate agents in over 300 locations worldwide and representing the brand’s expansion in the West Midlands.
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In a nutshell: the property share price freefall
If the share price of the UK’s residential stockmarket-listed corporates are the bellwether of the industry’s future health then estate agents should be battening down the hatches. Investors in London’s stock exchange clearly think Brexit, the recent Stamp Duty increases and last week’s letting fees ban are going to make selling or renting homes harder and less profitable in the coming months. Share prices have dropped alarmingly. Compared to a year ago when Brexit was still only a possibility, Countrywide’s share price is down by 52%, Foxtons by 37%, LSL Property Services by 33%, Belvoir Lettings by 15.7% and Savills by 13.9%. Even the industry’s digital superstars, so beloved of the City in recent years, have taken substantial hits including Purplebricks (-31%) and Rightmove (-11%) although Zoopla, whose model has helped its share price grow since August, is only down by half a percent as is Belvoir Lettings. Savills has also done better during the recent bloodbath which UBS analyst Heidi Richardson says is because the stockmarket knows only 9% of its sales come from selling homes in the UK. Purplebricks survived the lettings fees ban much better than its more traditional competitors after rushing out a statement that the…
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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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