Ed Mead
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Features
Proptech – Transformers
A wave of new companies is challenging the old ways of the property industry, with immensely clever technological solutions. Lisa Isaacs spoke to some of the people who are transforming property.
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Latest property news
Agents too keen to bag a sale when doing viewings, say buyers
A survey of buyers among customers of outsourced property viewings firm Viewber reveal many think traditional agents are too keen to bag a sale.
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Supplier News
Viewber unlocks challenge of out-of-hours keys for property viewings
Ed Mead's outsourced viewing firm Viewber has struck a deal that gives its 'viewbers' access to keys in 200 locations around the UK for property viewings.
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Latest property news
Viewber raises another £2.2m during third round of funding
Cash will be used to fund continued fast growth for the outsourced viewings firm, which says it has been growing by 20% a month recently.
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Latest property news
OnTheMarket founding agency Douglas & Gordon signs up with ZPG
Douglas & Gordon, one of the most vocal founding members of OnTheMarket.com, has returned to ZPG on an unspecified but likely five-year deal. The 18-branch agency, which is one of London’s better-known agency brands, has signed up with ZPG after OnTheMarket dropped its one other portal rule ahead of the portal’s recent stock market flotation although it “remains a strong supporter and investor in OnTheMarket and has recently signed a new five-year listing agreement with us,” an OTM spokesperson told The Negotiatotor. Douglas & Gordon continues to list its properties on Rightmove as well, suggesting a new trend in the industry following the OTM share launch; that agents with generous marketing budgets will now choose to list with all three portals. Douglas & Gordon was one of several high profile agents who founded OnTheMarket in 2015 including Savills, Strutt & Parker, Knight Frank, Chestertons and Glentree Estates following two years of behind-the-scenes discussions. James Evans (pictured, left), Douglas & Gordon’s current CEO, says, “We are delighted to be marketing all of our property listings with ZPG again. “ZPG have historically served our business very well and have considerably developed their platform over the past few years in terms of the…
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Latest property news
Viewber claims outsourced viewings ARE gaining traction
Outsourced viewings service Viewber has revealed its results from the company’s first year of operation. Co-founder Ed Mead says the proptech firm has completed 6,500 viewings, has 500 clients including several large, but undisclosed, sales and lettings agents. He also say it now has a ‘Viewber army’ of over 2,200 freelance local operatives. High points of its first 12 months in business have included a block booking of 188 viewings requested by one client, and a requested viewing that came in at 5.45am for an 8.45am viewing the same day. But Mead also admits that demand got off to a slow start with just 50 viewings during the first three months from September to November last year. “I always knew this service was part of the future and increasingly useful to busy agents and other industry players, who face squeezed margins and increased competition,” says Ed. “Agents, buyers and tenants now expect service on demand, which is often late, at short notice or at weekends. Viewber can help support a business freeing up teams to spend more time putting deals together and less out on the road.” Outsourced viewings Viewbers was launched after Ed decided to bring his expertise, along…
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Latest property news
Hundreds of agents sign up to be easyProperty licensees, says Jon Cooke
EasyProperty has come out fighting following criticism of its merger with The Guild of Property Professionals last week, revealing that there has been “strong” take-up among the industry for its new territorial licensing system. Jon Cooke (pictured, below), the CEO of both easyProperty and the merged company’s parent group e-Prop Services, also says that he is receiving enquiries from non-members of the Guild but, while it currently only available to Guild menbers, it not a “compulsory” add-on and instead an “option” for members. Following criticism by leading proptech expert James Dearsley and industry veteran Ed Mead last week in which they questioned the merger’s likely success and highlighted its weaknesses, Jon says easyProperty has received 500 territory requests from Guild members including many from a sales roadshow that has been under way since June 14th. He says letters of intent were sent to all the agents who attended the three-hour roadshows and that a third of them signed and returned them. The roadshows have been conducted across the including in Coventry, London, Tunbridge Wells, Southampton, Exeter, Bristol, Manchester, Yorkshire, Newcastle and East Anglia. “There has been a lot of industry speculation from naysayers who seem to have a louder voice…
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Latest property news
Revealed: how Viewber’s pricing and agent payments work
Details of how Viewber, the outsourced property viewing company, works have been revealed within an article published by a national newspaper today. Daily Mail online property reporter Myra Butterworth (pictured, below) turned sleuth and signed up to join Viewber even though, apart from writing about property, she has no experience as either an estate agent or of showing people around properties. Myra’s report on how she fared as a Viewber agent make for amusing reading – particualry as she locked herself out of the building for her first appointment – but do reveal more details of how the Viewber model works. Ed Mead, one of the co-founders of Viewber and to date its main spokesperson, has always been keen not to give too many details away about its service, but the Daily Mail article does. Viewber expects agents to turn up 15 minutes prior to a viewing to ensure the property is showcased in the best possible light. In Myra’s case she was also hand-held by an employee from agent Aucoot, which was established last year by a former sales director from upmarket agent The Modern House, John McDavid. But in most cases agents will be flying solo. Bank account…
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Latest property news
Outsourced viewings firm Viewber wins second round of funding
Outsourced viewings service Viewber has won a second raft or ‘Series B’ round of funding for the fledgling business launched last September by industry veteran Ed Mead and technology entrepreneur Marcus de Ferranti (pictured, right). The two founders of the company won’t say how much extra cash they’ve raised but Mead told The Negotiator that he wants to capitalise on the company’s “first mover” advantage and continue growing the company. This hints at a rival outsourced viewings operation waiting in the wings. But Ed also says he and Marcus want to carry on investing in the automated operation system that the Viewber model relies on, and hire more key staff. Enthusiastically invested He also confirmed that former Marsh & Parsons MD Peter Rollings, who came in early as a ‘Series A’ investor as we reported in January, remains “enthusiastically invested” in the company. But while Viewber is sometimes seen as part of the UK’s proptech sector expansion, its technology at launch was surprisingly old-school – for example there was no mobile app for clients or agents to use. Has this changed? “Have we gone digital? Yes, big time as always planned,” says Ed. “We have a complex and fully functional automated…
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Guest Blogs
Tech control of your business
During my 38 years working as an agent I learned to appreciate why many smaller agents are resistant to change; if you’re not a corporate, trying new ideas can seem risky. But I’m worried that the 80% of the industry who are small businesses are missing out on the new ideas coming out of the current growth in tech and online, and that too many small agents instead just put on their tin hats and fire well-rehearsed ripostes. Historically, agents have pandered to sellers and landlords – those that pay the bills. But the whip hand is with, and the demand from, buyers and tenants. My argument is that without the tech to reach and service the new generation of millennials, existing agents could well become invisible to them. Without the tech to reach and service the new generation of millennials, existing agents could well become invisible to them.” And it’s the larger agents – including the much-criticised Countrywide – that are moving to take advantage of new tech. No surprises there as they have the advantage of economies of scale, and the ability to swallow mistakes. Back in the noughties, this enabled the bigger and corporate agents to benefit…
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