SPECIAL FEATURE


X-Press Legal


Services Andrew and Louise Gallagher


Husband-and-wife team Andrew and Louise Gallagher were among the first to buy an X-Press Legal franchise. Both previously worked for the Land Registry, so they could see the potential of this property search and reporting business. Twelve years on from the launch of their Durham office, Andrew tells the story of their life as franchise owners so far…


Why did you decide to go into franchising and why this brand? We knew we wanted more autonomy in our careers but setting up our own business from scratch felt too risky. Franchising seemed to provide the perfect balance of freedom and support. Even though we had knowledge of this sector and so could see the potential in this type of business, franchisees don't need to have property, conveyancing or legal experience to join X-press Legal Services. As soon as we met the team, we were sold. It hadn’t been around long at the time but the owners, Lynne and Dave Lister, are fantastic. They gave us confidence from our first meeting with them.


How has business been for you so far? Well, we have been around for 12 years now and have recently expanded into a new, larger office, so I’d say it’s been pretty good! The beauty of X-Press Legal Services is that it doesn’t


matter what is going on in the property market, there is always business for the people performing the property searches and producing the reports. Our services are a required aspect of every property transaction, including sales, repossessions, remortgages and everything else. We are pleased to say that we have lovely conveyancing clients that we have worked with regularly for years.


What sort of ongoing support have you received? The support has always been excellent. Lynne and Dave ran their own territory; in fact, they still do, so they know exactly what it’s like to operate franchise offices day to day. At the beginning, they helped us to apply the skills we had picked up throughout our earlier careers to the new challenge of managing a business. As the years have gone on, their support has enabled us to grow and develop our business in line with market needs. There is so much more on offer for franchisees now than there was when we came on board, like the X-Press Academy, which offers regular training workshops for the life of your business. Lynne and Dave are still very hands-on as well. It still feels like a family, despite now being a large network. l


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