FRANCHISING
‘We have various departments and they all talk to franchisees on a
daily basis – what do they need? What can we offer?’ JAMES TRIMBLE WINKWORTH
profitability within 12 to 18 months. Winkworth charges an ongoing royalty of eight per cent, and Martin & Co. 9 per cent, while Belvoir charges 12 per cent of gross turnover, and expects profitability within 14-15 months (though one branch turned a profit in just eight). Dorian Gonsalves is unapologetic
about Belvoir’s relatively high charge. “Franchising is very support dependent,” he says. “It’s all about supporting your network, so you have to ensure you can finance that.” One downside of franchising, though, is
that the monthly fee represents a fixed cost that can’t be cut. Paul Rogers says, “You’ve
got the fixed costs, your premises’ cost and your franchise fee, and there’s not much scope for cutting them.” He says though, that corporate work from Reeds Rains helps him keep the business on track, as has lettings revenue.
IS IT WORTH IT? Given that the franchise fee can represent a large absolute amount, is franchising worth it? The franchisors say yes – but they have a vested interest. What do the franchisees think? Andy Campbell believes the administrative and marketing support provided by the franchise frees him up to
Winkworth
Edward Foley office.
concentrate on profitability. “To me, it’s worth the money. I want to be out there making money, I don’t want to be sitting in the office making web pages.” Neil Morris warns franchising isn’t a
quick route to riches; “If you think you’re going to be a millionaire in the first six months forget it,” he says. “But we broke even in the first year, and on that basis, there’s nothing I’d do different.” As for Paul Rogers, he has only one
regret. Asked if, with hindsight, he would do anything different, he laughs. “Well, I wouldn’t have opened up two weeks before Northern Rock!”
Belvoir:
www.belvoirfranchise.com Hunters:
www.huntersnet.co.uk Martin & Co:
www.propertyfranchise.co.uk Reeds Rains:
the-property-franchise.co.uk Winkworth:
www.winkworth.co.uk Xperience:
www.xperience.co.uk Your Move:
www.your-move.co.uk/franchising
Any views you’d like to express on this?
www.propertydrum.com/articles/franchises2
The keys to your new property business ONLINE AGENT “If we could show you how....
• to advertise your properties on the most visible letting agent’s website
• to use powerful on-line software that can generate business while you sleep
• to significantly reduce your office running costs • to retire from your lettings business within 5 years ... would you be interested in talking to us?”
For more information on the Martin & Co franchise opportunities visit
www.propertyfranchise.co.uk or call 01202 292829
A business you can run from the comfort of almost anywhere 28 SEPTEMBER 2011 PROPERTYdrum
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