Faith in franchises
Andrea Kirkby talks to several agents who have taken the leap.
F
ranchising is becoming an increasingly attractive way to compete in estate and lettings agency, attracting both existing agents and individuals new to the business. However, it’s by no means a guaranteed route to
riches; like any business start-up, a new franchise takes time, hard work and dedication to make it profitable. So what draws the prospective business person to a franchise?
MAJOR ATTRACTIONS One major attraction is the branding. Edward Foley, a Winkworth franchisee in Wimbledon, says that, “Being able to tap into the resources of the brand really helped us. Just operating as Foley & Travers we wouldn’t have got where we are.” But that’s not all franchisees are buying into; for a start, there’s a tried and tested management system behind every franchise scheme. Dorian Gonsalves, MD at Belvoir, says
that Belvoir’s systems and operational processes can help franchisees achieve consistent success – there’s no need to find out what works by trial and error. “Having a strong system that works is hugely important to us,” he says; “lettings agency isn’t a unique product, but it’s our consistency that works for us.” Many of Belvoir’s franchisees are
ex-forces, like Andy Campbell, Belvoir’s franchisee in Moray, who decided on a franchise when he left the RAF. “Rather
22 SEPTEMBER 2011 PROPERTYdrum
‘It’s like cooking, I’m not Jamie Oliver but if you give me a good
cookbook I can do something good with it!’ DENNIS ROODHARDT MARTIN & CO HOMES
than doing it myself with no real business experience, I thought the safer way would be to go with someone bigger,” he says, and he’s happy that Belvoir gave him the support and systems he needed. But he warns there’s still significant work to do. “You’re given a model, but you can’t just sit back and think the market’s going to come to you.” Dennis Roodhardt, Martin & Co’s
Folkestone franchisee, admits that as an expatriate Dutchman, he wasn’t completely
up to date with all the UK laws and regulations, but says franchising helped him get it right. “A business is just systems and procedures, in essence, and I was given that with the franchise,” he says. “It’s like cooking, I’m not Jamie Oliver but if you give me a good cookbook I can do something good with it.” While the franchise can deliver systems
and procedures that work, though, there do need to be limits to how far the business is controlled from head office. Neil Morris, Stafford franchisee for Your Move, says freedom of pricing is vitally important. “We’ve had to compete against some of the big guys in Stafford,” he explains. “If we didn’t have the freedom to discount our commissions, it would be too easy for them to snipe, and win instructions by undercutting us.” He is also glad that he had the freedom
to choose when he was ready to start handling lettings as well as sales; if he’d done so right from the start, he believes he would have been “spinning too many plates.” In the end, he added rentals after the business had been open a couple of years, and says “there was no pressure from Your Move to do so any quicker.”
FUNDING AND SUPPORT In this economic environment finance can be a problem. Many recent franchisees have been self-funding. Dennis Roodhardt, on the other hand, did secure bank funding and says he would have found that much more difficult without his franchisor.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69