Alison Platt
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Latest property news
Stamp Duty cut: first-time buyers rejoice, but experts warn of price rises
If Chancellor Philip Hammond thought his Stamp Duty cut for first time buyers announced during yesterday’s Budget would get a unanimous thumbs up, then things definitely aren’t going to plan. Firstly Robert Cote, Chairman of the Office for Budget responsibility, revealed that his organisation thought the tax cut would push up prices by 0.3% and that “the main financial gainers will actually be people who already own properties, rather than first time buyers themselves”. Treasury Chief Secretary has subsequently dismissed the OBR’s prediction and just a “minor increase”. But Mark Hayward, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) (pictured, left) also sounded a note of caution saying that although overall it was a positive move, it would increase house prices by pushing up demand for first time buyer properties. “We have seen this in areas where Help to Buy is offered, as it attracts a great deal of interest from first time buyers,” he said. Sarah Beeny, TV presenter and founder of online agent Tepilo (pictured, right), also weighed in, saying she thought the measures would not make a huge difference to the market. “Cutting stamp duty for first time buyers is unlikely to do much –…
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Countrywide results reveal digital ‘pause’ to evaluate hybrid roll-out
The latest Countrywide results for the third quarter of the year show year-on-year revenue increased by 2% compared to the previous three months, but was down by 7% year-on-year. And after rolling out its hybrid/digital proposition across half of its network, and despite CEO Alison Platt revealing last week at the Negotiator Conference that its digital Every Customer Counts strategy was delivering better performance, the trading statement suggests this roll-out has now been paused while the company evaluates the strategy’s results so far. But the bullish headline figures in the trading statement also mask some alarming figures from the sales market. Countrywide’s estate agency business’ revenues dropped by £10m or 23% to £47.8m even though transaction levels increased compared to the first two quarters of the year. Countrywide results Compared to the previous quarter, overall revenues increased by 1.5% in London and by 2% across the UK, while its lettings business saw a decline of £2 million year-on-year. Highlights of the quarter include the company’s mortgages business where total lending increased by 16% year-on-year to £4.7 billion although overall its financial services division revenue dipped as property sales continued to decline. “We have a clear strategy founded on being the…
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Industry gathers for The Negotiator Conference & Expo in London
Over 500 sales and lettings agents, proptech innovators, portal senior staff and industry regulators packed the Hilton on Park Lane, London, hotel on Tuesday for the annual The Negotiator Conference & Expo. Highlights of the day’s presentations, panel debates and speeches included time on the podium from The Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith – who talked candidly about the missteps the government has made over Brexit and the housing market. Leading the debates was BBC Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb plus there were appearances from many high profile figures including ARLA’s David Cox, Sir Peter Bottomley, The Guild’s Iain McKenzie, Richard Donnell from Hometrack, Kate Faulkner, Ombudsman Katrine Sporle, Adam Walker, Jeremy Tapp and, at the end of the day, a keynote speech from Countrywide CEO Alison Platt. During that, Alison made the case for a robust property market in the future despite the current headwinds, and also revealed how Countrywide’s digital hybrid roll-out is progressing. There were also lively sessions at the day’s proptech sessions, at which Zoopla Chief Strategy Officer Paul Whitehead said the next 12 months will be a crunch-time for many proptech start-ups. He said it that it was time for many of them to start delivering…
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Hybrid rollout is delivering results, claims Countrywide CEO
Countrywide CEO Alison Platt yesterday made a robust defence of the company’s recently-launched digital hybrid offering, saying it has improved the performance of the businesses within which it’s been rolled out. In June last year Countrywide introduced what is essentially a parallel hybrid offering at the branches of several brands including Austin & Wyatt, Frank Innes and Spencers, where customers are offered a low-cost digital-only services both in-branch and on each agency’s websites, as well as their more expensive high street offering. Alison says the roll-out, which so far covers 25% or more of all its branches and is part of a strategy called Every Customer Counts, enables vendors to upgrade from Countrywide’s fixed-price online offering at any point to its full high street service, if they “feel they need the extra help and support”. “For the business, the brands where we’ve rolled out Every Customer Counts have seen better performance at every step of the journey, increased traffic, more valuations, better conversion, improved sales progression and increased revenue,” Alison said. Online mortgages The Countrywide CEO also revealed that the company will be launching its much-discussed online mortgage offering for both consumers and brokers and that leading tech firm Blenheim…
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Countrywide signs with ZPG for another three years of ‘partnership’
Countrywide has revealed this morning that it is to renew its listing with Zoopla and PrimeLocation for another three years for its multiple brands, which between them have nearly 1,000 branches across the UK. The new agreement starts on January 1st next year and covers both sales and lettings, although Countrywide CEO Alison Platt says she wants to maximise “the strategic benefits from their partnership”. Alison’s signature on the new contract means ZPG has passed an important test a year after Countrywide sold its remaining stake in ZPG for £29.2 million. It was one of the three key agent groups to invest in Zoopla in 2010 alongside LSL and Connells. The extent of this new partnership has not been revealed but is likely to see Countrywide leverage its listing power to access deals for some of ZPG’s other property-related businesses such including recently-acquired market analytics firm Hometrack and consumer finance portal www.money.co.uk and utilities switching portal uSwitch. “As the leading property services business across the UK, Countrywide is pleased to have cemented a refreshed and extended relationship with ZPG,” says Alison Platt. “The benefits to our Group and to our brands are significant and give us a strong platform to…
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Countrywide’s CEO Alison Platt takes new role focussing on sales and lettings
Countrywide CEO Alison Platt (pictured, right) is to focus her efforts on the company’s main property businesses and leave other areas to her new finance chief, it has been revealed today. The announcement follows recent speculation about Sam Tyrer (pictured, below), the company’s Managing Director of Retail and London, whose name was removed from the Countrywide senior team list, and whose LinkedIn profile gives an end date for her employment at the company. Retail focus At the time of joining Countrywide Sam was seen as one of the company’s new non-property, retail-focussed young innovators. Her arrival was part of Alison Platt’s drive to change the business from one dominated by long-serving property seniors into a more modern ‘integrated’ company. Sam was recruited by Alison two years ago to reshape the businesses’ sales and letting operations and was instrumental in launching its hybrid/online sales operation. But Countrywide now says there is to be a new organisational structure with Alison focussing on sales, lettings, financial services and commercial property. All the company’s UK-wide sales and lettings territories will report to Alison, including Hamptons International and its London and SE upmarket brands and City agencies including John D Wood. Countrywide’s new Chief Financial…
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Countrywide digital roll-out helps it retain market share
The half-year results for Countrywide reveal it has hung on to market share despite an overall contraction in the UK sales market, helped mainly by the roll-out of its digital ‘low fee’ proposition. Its market share dipped slightly from 5.1% to 4.9% but it increased its slice of the mortgage distribution market. The company also reduced costs by £19 million, helping generate £11.8 million in cash between January and June, up from £1.6 million last year. “We are building a stronger business for our future and remain on track with our goals to broaden our digital capability, reduce our operating cost base and strengthen our balance sheet,” says CEO Alison Platt (pictured, left) “Based on our current performance and the outlook for housing transactions in the UK, we expect our results and our leverage for the full year to be within the range of market expectations.” But like Foxtons which also reavealed half-year results today, the softening sales market helped reduce income at Countrywide by 10% during the first half of the year, and profits are down by 26%. Tough year for Countrywide “As anticipated, the first half of 2017 was tough for the Group compared to the same period…
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Countrywide CFO Jim Clarke retires, replaced by former G4S finance chief
Countrywide’s long-serving Chief Financial Officer Jim Clarke is to retire in July, making way for Himanshu Raja, who joins the company’s board on Monday and will take up position in August. Jim Clarke (pictured, left), who has in the past also taken the role of media commentator for Countrywide and recently led a share placement of nearly £40m to fund the company’s hybrid estate agency roll-out, has been with the company since 2007. His background before joining was in the hospitality and fitness sectors first at pub chain JD Wetherspoon and before that at David Lloyd Leisure. His retirement comes almost exactly two years to the day since two of his former colleagues, Bob Scarff and Nick Dunning, resigned from the company just nine months after Group Chief Executive Alison Platt took the helm. Clarke was also one of eight senior management figures who sold shares options worth millions in 2015 following the company’s return to the stock market in 2013, in his case worth £2.4 million. He is being replaced by Himanshu Raja who until last year was Group Chief Financial Officer of security firm G4S where he earned £1.7 million a year. He has been on sabbatical since…
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Is Countrywide now one of the biggest hybrid agents?
While there’s enormous interest in ‘online-only’ and hybrid agents such as Hatched and Purplebricks, a lesser-known online operation has been rolling out across swathes of the UK. Countrywide revealed this morning how its digital ‘hybrid’ roll-out has been progressing over the past year, and it’s significant. So far this has included a four-phase launch that now covers 25% of its business, and 200 branches. Four phases After trialling it with three brands in June last year – Austin & Wyatt in the SW, Frank Innes in the East Midlands and Spencers in Leicestershire – it then introduced the offering to a further three agencies in November. These were Carsons in Hampshire, Miller Countrywide in Cornwall and Devon and Fulfords in Somerset. In January this year it also added its hybrid offering to Entwistle Green in Liverpool and Lancashire and says that it has shown “the most positive results to date”. A launch then followed last month at Bridgfords, the largest agent to do so thus far. Benefits Benefits of Countrywide’s hybrid model, which charges a £695 to £995 fee (see ad above) for a Purplebricks-style service during which vendors have to conduct both their own viewings and sale price negotiations, have included increased traffic to agent’s websites.…
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Countrywide results lift stockmarket price
It may be Friday 13th but Countrywide’s Chief Executive, Alison Platt, is probably feeling a little happier as their share price rose this morning following the group’s reported its income for the 12 months to the end of December. Listed as £737 million, it beat their 2015 figure of £734 million and the analysts’ expectations of £702 million. The figure was achieved despite falling volumes in house sales, through their agency offices, particularly in London. Countrywide (CWD.L) said that the volume of sales in London in the final quarter continued to be below 2015’s levels, resulting in a drop of about 6 per cent in the number of deals for the year. However, its lettings business saved the day, supporting sales revenue with strong activity across the country. Countrywide had issued two profit warnings for 2016, saying that it expected full-year market volumes to be 6 per cent lower for the full year. The group said volumes were likely to fall further in 2017. Countrywide is ‘encouraged’ Commenting on the Group’s performance, Alison Platt, CEO said, “It is pleasing to report modest full year revenue growth against the backdrop of a challenging residential sales market. Our Retail and London divisions were impacted by the…
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