David Westgate
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Latest property news
50+ branches of Andrews signs up to long-term deal with OnTheMarket
Agency knows for its considerable charity work is latest to join portal after initially rejecting advances from OnTheMarket.
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Latest property news
Andrews Property Group donates £1 million to its shareholder charities
Estate agent the Andrews Property Group has donated it largest cheque to the company's two shareholder charities since 2004.
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Latest property news
Andrews sells it surveying business to SimplyBiz after shifting “core focus”
Britain’s most ethical estate agency group, Andrews, has sold its chartered surveying business to The SimplyBiz Group for an undisclosed sum. Andrews says that after much research, it believes SimplyBiz is a suitable buyer because it shares the “same moral fibre”. Landmark, which turns over approximately £5 million a year according to its latest full-year accounts and achieved a profit margin of 13.5% or £675,700, no longer fits into Andrews’ “core focus”, says Group Chief Executive David Westgate. Landmark is based in Bristol and will transfer over to SimplyBiz without the loss of any of the 55 people the company employs, Andrews has confirmed. The SimplyBiz Group is a rapidly-expanding umbrella company for a range of services and financial products including mortgages and pensions to financial advisers It was launched in 2002 and now claims some 3,500 clients. Within its latest accounts published in July last year Landmark reported that its profits were down 3.5% and turnover by 2%, largely due to the EU Referendum in June 2016, which “considerably affected volumes”. Landmark was set up ten years ago by Andrews and, after at least six years of losses as it gained traction, began making profits four years ago. “Landmark…
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Latest property news
Andrews hires former Waitrose MD as new Group Chairman
It’s all change at the top of Andrews Property Group after it was announced that Group Chairman Jim Glover (pictured, middle) is to stand down with immediate effect and will be succeeded by Steven Esom (pictured, right). Unusually, Esom does not have a property background and instead comes with a career in the retail sector, notably at Sainsburys, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose where he was Managing Director. “Andrews Property Group stands out within the property sector as a firm built on integrity and deeply-held values,” he says. “This makes it a both unique and interesting company to join and I’m very much looking forward to bringing my skills and experience to play with the entire Andrews’ team.” Jim has done much of the preparatory work of Steven, transforming Andrews over the six years he’s held the chairmanship. This has included developing a strategy for the charity-focussed business, rebranding its logo and other corporate visuals and bringing David Westgate (pictured, left) on as Group CEO. Queen and county Jim Glover is not remaining in the industry and will be instead be representing the Queen in Surrey as its new High Sheriff. “Andrews has gone through a huge period of transition…
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Movers & Shakers
CEO, Andrews Property Group celebrates 20 years
David Westgate, Group Chief Executive at Andrews Property Group, was presented with a Long Service Award, recognising his 20 years in Keynsham.
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Latest property news
Online and hybrid estate agents are ‘good for the industry’, says Andrews boss
The industry should recognise that online and hybrid estate agents are a “positive threat” and the traditional agents who carry on regardless won’t survive. That’s the view of David Westgate, the Chief Executive of Andrews Property Group (pictured, standing left), who says online competition is good because it’s “shaking us all up a bit and forcing us to think dynamically about how we move our businesses forward,” he says. “It’s a threat, but it’s a positive one that enables us to get sharper and focus on what our customers’ needs are. For me, it’s about how Andrews responds to this ‘threat’.” David, who recently received a long-service award to mark his 20 years at the firm, has overseen the introduction of an app (pictured, below) for its customers to help them manage viewings and review offers which, he says, already has 2,700 ‘live’ vendors. “We recognise that a lot of customers haven’t got the time to, or just don’t want to, talk to us directly so that’s why we developed the app,” he says. “The first thing is to define what the customer wants, then launch a service to match that through the appropriate channels. “If someone wants to come…
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Latest property news
Andrews passes £500,000 to its two key charities
Andrews Property Group has revealed that it is to pay the two main charities it supports almost £500,000 this year. This takes the total amount of money generated by Andrews for the charities to £2.7 million over the past five years. The company, which is arguably the UK’s most charity-focussed estate agent, has an unusual ownership structure. It is owned by two charities, Andrews Charitable Trust (ACT) and the Christian Book Promotion Trust, which will share the payout. Andrews was established by devout Christian Cecil Jackson Cole (pictured, left) in 1946 with a key purpose, other than selling property, to fund his considerable activity in the charitable sector. This included helping establish several now famous charities including Help the Aged and Action Aid, a life-long passion that began when he saw people starving in Europe after the Second World War. “Andrews is built on an unwavering belief that commercial profit should be used wherever possible to benefit those who suffer hardship both in the communities in which we operate, as well as those further afield,” says David Westgate, Chief Executive of Andrews Property Group (pictured, below). “To be able to hand over such a significant figure to the charitable trusts serves…
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