Online agent eMoov has announced that it is to “drastically” increase the number of local agents in the field and has hired a former senior Spicerhaart divisional executive to manage the expansion.

Richard Olliffe, who before joining eMoov had spent seven years at Spicerhaart rising through the ranks, is to help the online agent implement a huge recruitment campaign to increase its presence across the UK – which currently features five ‘local experts’ covering Essex, London, the North West, West Yorkshire, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield.

The announcement accompanying Richard’s appointment says that although the high-street shop window is “obsolete” and the multiple-branch model “no longer relevant to the UK property market”, eMoov also says home sellers “still value face-to-face contact with a local expert”.

“This blend of people and tech gives eMoov the edge in a rapidly changing industry and offers the consumer a proposition that combines the best of all sectors and removes the bad,” it says.

Commenting on his new job, Richard (pictured, left)  says that “although my role at eMoov will be similar to my time in the high-street sector, I’m looking forward to applying that knowledge and experience to a new breed of estate agency at scale”.

eMoov is also clearly pleased that it’s managed to lure such a senior player within the industry.

Alistair Harper, eMoov’s Sales Director, says: “Richard has seen the bright light of online estate agency having made the move from the high-street sector, and we’re glad he did.

“[His] proven track record in managing a wealth of branches and brands will put him in good stead when it comes to handling our rapidly growing number of local property agents.”

eMoov has also changed tack with its pricing model. Customers are now being offered two options – to either pay an up-front non-refundable Purplebricks-style fee of £795 or a more traditional agency fee of £1,495, payable on the successful sales of the property.

CEO Russell Quirk says he had tested out this approach in 2015 but, it would appear, has been persuaded to adopt now that competitors are employing similar ones successfully.