PORTALS


DPG’s 15,000th agent customer


COMPETITIONS Metropix’s ‘Speed Floor Plan


Metropix, the supplier of floor plan based products to the residential estate


DPG now has 15,000 paying members, the magic number going to Fulham based Glenthorne Properties Ltd. Pictured is Director, Stephen Giddings, with DPG Account Manager Daniel Jenkins. DPG has increased its number of paid branches by 3,500 since this time last year, a 29 per cent growth. Greg Bryce, Commercial Director, said, “We have had 225 new members in the last week alone. In addition, we are delivering record enquiries as our agents and developers along with consumers benefit from our sites”. The agent and developer enquiries growth over the first 4 months of 2012 equates to a 43 per cent increase and was driven by sustained TV advertising, with both FindaProperty.com and PrimeLocation.com being advertised on TV since the start of 2012.


“With the new customer growth, the number of properties on our websites has also increased, and now exceeds 1m4, giving more choice than ever before.”


FINANCIAL REPORTS Winkworth announce solid profits


Winkworth’s results for 2011 make some welcome ‘good news reading’, with


sales up by 7.3 per cent to £3.98 million (2010: £3.71 million), creating profit before taxation of £1.2 million (2010: £1.1m) up 8.1 per cent. The country branches are powering growth with lettings and management fees up by 40 per cent in the country, seven per cent in London and nine per cent overall. Dominic Agace, Chief Executive Officer of Winkworth commented, “The opening months of the year have presented us with


a mixed picture for London residential property but with some encouraging signs. The middle market of family houses in Greater London, where prices have risen but transaction volumes have been limited by a shortage of available stock, is finally showing renewed signs of life. “It is encouraging to report that


our offices have witnessed a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in sales instructions over the first two months of the year and a 12 per cent rise in buyer registrations. Over the same period, completed transactions rose by almost a quarter. “Having so far this year already added offices in Canterbury,


Grantham, Worcester Park and Cheam, we will continue to invest in new offices outside of London in 2012 despite the ongoing low volume of transactions. With a number of exciting new initiatives lined up for launch in the second half of 2012, we are working to make our proposition even more compelling.


“The gains that we are making


in market share lead us to believe that these are the right conditions under which to grow our footprint across the South East and South West of England and, in anticipation of an eventual upturn in transaction, to add value to the brand by acquiring revenues at depressed values.”


agency market, invited property professionals from across the UK to take part in a ‘Speed Floor-Plan Drawing’ competition; the game Metropix believed the organisers of London 2012 mistakenly overlooked! Metropix has now revealed that the winner of the competition, and officially the ‘UK’s Fastest Speed Floor-Plan Drawing Champion’, is Stephanie Dunn-Fox from Findahome Online Estate & Letting Agents. She lodged the impressive time of 2:48:77. Stephanie has won the Gold prize of the new Apple iPad, which is winging its way to the Findahome Online offices. Runners-up are Jonny Orme from Martel Maides, who logged a time of 2:53:63 and wins the Silver prize of an iPod Nano; and closely following in the Bronze position – with a photo finish (ho ho)– is Nathan Patterson from Manning Stainton, who recorded 2:53:72 and winsan iPod Shuffle. Brian Farrell, managing


director of Metropix saidd; “We have seen a huge amount of interest in the Speed Floor


Drawing’ league winner Plan Drawing competition and would like to extend our thanks to everyone who entered and offer our congratulations to Stephanie Dunn-Fox from Findahome Online who won our gold prize. “Whilst the winning time


was an impressive 2:48:77mins we thank all those that participated; of which, 94 per cent achieved times of less than five minutes to draw the 3-bedroomed house provided and the top four producing it in less than three minutes. Congratulations to the winners and big thank you too for everyone else who took part in the closely-fought contest. We hope you enjoyed our take on the 2012 Games!”


LEASEHOLD


Leaseholders let down by new energy code


Thousands of residential leaseholders face hefty backdated energy bills despite a new


Code of Practice that is supposed to protect them, says ARMA. The new Code, issued by the Energy Retail Association (ERA), is supposed to protect small businesses from crippling backdated energy bills but completely fails to do so. This includes leaseholder run Residents Management Companies, which, according to ARMA, will be left particularly vulnerable. These microbusinesses are run by volunteer leaseholders purely to manage communal areas of their homes and do not make a profit.


Unexpected bills, often the result of energy companies


misreading meters, can run into tens of thousands of pounds and are especially damaging to the leaseholders who must then foot the bill through their service charge payments.


Under the Code, energy companies commit to limit backdated bills to three years for electricity and five years for gas. ARMA says the limit should be one year, the same as for domestic customers and that the Code should be compulsory - so far it is voluntary and not all energy suppliers have signed up. ARMA’s chairman, Peter Dening who is a partner at Pennycuick Collins in Birmingham, said, “We are very disappointed that the ERA has not gone further to protect leaseholders from the disastrous effects of backbilling. “ARMA has campaigned for this


Code of Practice so that energy companies will treat the communal areas to blocks of flats like the domestic premises they are. At a time when many families are struggling with fuel poverty, it is simply not fair that flat owners could still be billed for charges going back five years.”


PROPERTYdrum JUNE 2012 7


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