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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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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‘Lack of evidence’ gives tenants advantage in disputes
A high volume of tenants are continuing to win deposit scheme disputes due to a lack of evidence, according to Imfuna Let, which has commented on the issue in light of statistics from the Tenant Deposit Scheme Annual Review 2014. According to the Review, since the tenant deposit schemes initiative came into force in 2007, tenants have won 100 per cent of a deposit more often than landlords. The figures reveal that renters have received the full deposit in 20.25 per cent of cases, compared to 18.21 per cent for landlords. Furthermore, the dispute amounts have leapt from £736 in 2010-2011 to £860 in 2013-2014. Cleaning remains the most common cause of dispute, appearing in 53 per cent of all cases. This is followed by damage (46 per cent), redecoration (29 per cent), arrears (16 per cent) and gardening (14 per cent). “Despite the best efforts of the deposit schemes, landlords and agents are not being awarded 100 per cent of the deposit as often as tenants,” said JaxKneppers, Founder and CEO of Imfuna Let. “It is worth asking ourselves why landlords have failed to improve their success rate at disputes over the last few years? One obvious reason is…
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Agents happy with OTM
Three months on from the launch of OnTheMarket (OTM) it has been claimed that the property portal is struggling to prove a hit with consumers, but estate agents listing properties on the website insist that they remain happy with OTM. Citing the latest data from Hitwise, the Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) claim that OTM’s website traffic has been in decline for the last few weeks, after peaking in mid-March, and that those agents that list their properties on the website are not receiving good value for money. Lawrence Hall (left) of ZPG commented, “At the end of the day, OTM is simply a marketing channel like any other and will need to ensure that its audience levels justify its fees. This is even more the case for OTM given that it has required its members to give up a huge audience. It is hard to see how agents can justify paying anything meaningful for marketing on OTM at these current traffic levels.” Ian Springett (right), Chief Executive of OnTheMarket.com, insisted that claims by ZPG that traffic to OTM is falling are “simply inaccurate both in terms of absolute numbers and trends”. “As flattering as it is to receive so much…
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Zoopla and Rightmove provide ‘competitive advantage’ – Connells
A detailed analysis of email leads delivered by Zoopla and Rightmove throughout 2014 show that the level of duplication between the two major portals is lower than previously thought, the Connells Group has claimed. Internal data from Connells reveals that of all consumers who sent email leads through the major portals, 93.8 per cent were unique to either Zoopla or Rightmove with only the remainder duplicated between the top two portals. What’s more, Connells claims that for the highest value market appraisal leads, 99.9 per cent were unique, with just 0.1 per cent duplication. David Plumtree (left), Group CEO Estate Agency Connells Group, said, “With the recent launch of Agents’ Mutual we were keen to confirm the value delivered to our network by the major property portals, reaffirming the low level of duplication of leads between the two main players, which has continued into 2015. “The value of being on both Zoopla and Rightmove is clear, and remains the best choice for our customers and network of agency offices in 2015.” As a shareholder in Zoopla, the Connells Group has opted not to sign up to OnTheMarket.com (OTM), which launched earlier this year. Meanwhile, Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) has confirmed…
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Countrywide further expands lettings business
Countrywide Residential Lettings, part of the UK’s largest estate agency and property services Group, has acquired four successful lettings businesses over the past three months. The recent acquisitions include Property Links in Plymouth; Anderson Residential a full service lettings agency in Sutton Coldfield; the large portfolio of HE Lettings in Lincolnshire and All in One Move in Swindon. As part of Countrywide plc, all four acquired businesses will benefit from the Group’s shared marketing services, property market insight due to economies of scale and shared services from local lettings agency brands. Nick Dunning, Group Commercial Director, Countrywide plc, said, “The acquisitions we made in quarter one, 2015 are in line with our selective acquisitions strategy, which is focused on delivering the best growth and success for all parties involved. These acquisitions significantly increase our regional footprint and fill in the geographical gaps in our portfolio. Current market conditions offer ongoing opportunities to acquire lettings businesses and scope to enter new markets as well as expand our presence in existing markets.” Over the past five years Countrywide has invested over £80 million in acquiring more than 100 lettings businesses throughout England and Scotland. During that period, Countrywide has opened over 100…
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Odds shorten on estate agent winning seat in May
Bookmakers have slashed the odds on Kevin Hollinrake, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Hunters Property Group, being elected MP for Thirsk & Malton after his nearest rival, and existing MP for the North Yorkshire, announced last week that she will not be seeking re-election on 7th May. Anne McIntosh (left), the Conservative MP, confirmed she will not run as an independent in the General Election, after she was deselected by her party. She said she would focus on returning a Tory government by campaigning for candidates in marginal seats instead. McIntosh has been the MP for Thirsk & Malton, North Yorkshire, since 1997, and was previously an MEP. She commented, “Many have asked me to stand locally in some capacity. I am honoured but my place is within the party and I would never put personal ambition ahead of the best interests of the country, which can only be served by another Government led by David Cameron. “To all those who have so loyally supported me and who have expressed disillusionment and a sense of being disenfranchised, I urge them to put aside their disappointment and ask them to consider that the alternative would not be good for the constituency,…
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