Former Purplebricks Territory Owner reveals all about why she quit to join eXp
Claire Hughes remembers the excitement of Purplebricks' early years, and her disappointment with the culture change after the Bruces left.
One of the first lettings agents to join Purplebricks in 2015 has given an unusually candid insight into why she eventually left the estate agency, citing the change in culture that followed the departure of the Bruce brothers in 2019.
The comments have been made by Clare Hughes, who is now an independent agency owner in NE London running her business via the eXp UK platform.
But from August 2015 to October 2020 she was a Purplebricks territory owner, having made the move after meeting the Bruce brothers.
“During the initial meetings I was reassured that I could run the territory as my own business because I wanted to create an asset that I could sell on,” she says during an interview with Chris Watkins on his YouTube channel.
Charismatic
“The culture in those early days was amazing and Kenny and Michael were very charismatic – it was fun and exciting to be involved and we were all shareholders and felt that we had ownership of the company.”
Hughes goes on to say that it stopped becoming fun after the Bruce brothers left, revealing that the new management who came in from outside “didn’t understand what being a Territory was all about”.
If you run a self-employed model and then bring in management who tell you how to run your business then it all changes,” she adds.
“The people who were at the top no longer understand the motivation of the people coming into work, whereas Kenny and Michael did, and therefore eventually I felt far more like an employee than a business owner.”
Watch the full interview, during which Hughes reveals the ups and downs of her personal life and career including her time at Purplebricks.
Read another interview with a former Purplebricks territory owner.