LSL Property Services has just announced plans to close and merge branches in its flagship Reeds Rains and Your Move networks.
Jobs will be lost and while personnel will be offered alternative employment where possible, a consultation is being entered into.
Instead of 308 owned Your Move and Reeds Rains branches, there will be 280, of which 144 offices will be owned “keystone” branches and around 136 will be franchised.
The company announced the closure and merging of the operations of approximately 81 neighbouring branches into the new keystone branch network, which will be branded as either Your Move or Reeds Rains, to “deliver improved scale”.
There are no planned changes to other LSL brands, while at London business Marsh & Parsons, there are plans to expand the network to 36 branches.
Helen Buck, LSL’s executive director for estate agency at LSL, which has a stake in online agent Yopa, said: “The strategic changes announced today follow the completion of our ways of working programme and continues to support our long standing view that traditional estate agents will represent the substantial majority of the residential sales and lettings market for the foreseeable future and that our estate agency branches will continue to remain core to providing the service our customers expect.”
Here is how the numbers look:
Your Move and Reeds Rains branch numbers:
|
|
Existing branch numbers (actual)
|
Planned branch numbers (approx.) |
|
Total owned branches |
308 |
144 |
|
Total Franchise branches |
96 |
136 |
|
Total branches (all) |
404 |
280 |
This morning LSL announced details as follows:
- Franchising approximately 40 existing branches in locations which do not geographically align with the proposed network of keystone branches within Reeds Rains and Your Move but which offer positive business opportunities to existing successful LSL franchisees within both brands.
- The closure of approximately 43 branches which are not planned to be combined with the keystone branches or converted into a franchised branches.
- The planned changes are expected to reduce the total number of Your Move and Reeds Rains branches from 404 to 280 of which approximately 144 will be owned keystone branches and approximately 136 will be franchised.
- LSL has also announced that it has started the process to replace its legacy in-house developed Residential Sales and Lettings system with a solution that is expected to provide better functionality and processes for colleagues in the newly established keystone branch networks and which has already been operated successfully by Marsh & Parsons for a number of years.
- The simplification and streamlining of the Your Move and Reeds Rains operations is expected to result in a headcount reduction.
- This will be minimised wherever possible by the franchising of branches, the merging of branches with keystone branches and offering alternative employment where available within the LSL Group. The reduced number of owned branches will also lead to the simplification of central support functions. Changes are due to begin with immediate effect.
Comments (30)
For so long, the measure of a “successful” estate agency has rested on how many offices you have, and sadly some companies still believe that. Simply, there aren’t enough instructions to go around now as people move less often and too many are cutting fees back because they don’t know how to sell themselves properly.
I don’t see cutting branches as a sign of weakness or of business going badly as such – what LSL are doing is a much needed adjustment in order to reflect and better serve this new market we find ourselves in.
The truth is that this has been a long time coming. In the Greater London area where Your Move operates it has been marginalised by nimbler independents who can be flexible on fees, throw resources at marketing and don’t promote overpriced support services or keep recruiting when the business levels aren’t there. Finally realised that the one size fits all approach doesn’t work – very sad it hadn’t taken so long to do so.
It’s corporates like these that caused the fee ban by charging ridiculous tenant fees, reap what you sow!
It think you have been a bit kind on the heading of the story, i would have said LSL to close over 120 branches.
This is exactly what Barclays and similar big businesses have been doing for a number of years now, even Royal Mail.
It reduces overheads and ‘centralises’ or ‘hubs’ the staff together – keeping the same services but less offices to manage. In my opinion, the fact they want to franchise shows belief in the location but not enough capital to warrant keeping it open! Franchising removes their risk whilst still keeping part of the profits.. twisty!
Who would want to take a franchise out on an already failed branch?. It seems pretty hopeful on their part that they will be able to get 40 more franchisees. As ever a chunk of change less for rightmove every month so watch them ratchet up the fees to those that decide to stay.
Imagine they will be virtually giving it away to existing franchisees, LSL dont have to deal with the remainder of the lease and any dilapidation’s and the franchisee gets a kitted out set up branch. If the franchisee thinks they can bring costs down through the lack of central overheads and move the business forward it could actually be a win win.
Ask yourself if LSL gave you the keys to a branch could you do a better job on a lower cost base than they currently are ?
Suspect 2019 is going to be absolutely brutal. Think that fee-cutting will be the way to stay in business and increase market share? Good luck with that. Think that continuing to pump in investor’s money in order to come out the other side in a strong position? Really, really good luck with that. The race to the bottom is surely entering its final phase.
I don’t value or trust your opinion PP. You are almost always wrong
Having so many brands under one group and same high street is surely a thing of the past. Instead of growing the number of branches, better to consolidate and ensure the ones a business have are strong, professional, well trained and competitive.
It begins…..
So LSL threw £20 million at Yopa and now they close 124 offices ?
Maybe the shareholders need to hold someone’s feet to the fire.
Assume you mean S.E’s feet to be included?
Corporate chains with fingers in other pies and multi-branch agencies will be harder to run.
Every year over at least the last five I’ve said this market or this change in legislation will sort the men out from the boys…
2019 should be the year when true professionals and service with integrity finally comes through!
Both these companies have been haemorrhaging for years, so no surprise. As for Franchise …. hmm, pushing the liability onto another or they wouldn’t have let it go.
The immediate response when you hear news like this is to feel sympathy with the affected staff – but with change like this comes opportunity.
Both within the EweMove network and in other regional or independent agents I speak to, who are currently performing highly, one of the biggest challenges is recruiting good quality staff to help deal with growing volumes and growing businesses. A good problem to have one might assume! But it does mean there are some great opportunities out there for these affected folks to move to.
I wish them well and happy to speak to anyone affected to see if we can find a place for them within EweMove.
Shamless plug for an advert when people are potentially losing thier jobs.
Still cheap and tacky is what we have come to expect from EweMove.
Presumably you meant “… sheep and tacky …”?
Who on earth would buy into a franchise with that branding?? So Head_Dick#2 thinks this is an opportunity for a similar sounding brand to thrive? If I were you mate, I’d get rid of that all ridiculous marketing you use and start over….
I am pleased that you find my uncertain future an excuse to advertise your own business.
Start of many branch closures.
Already this year in one town we operate 2 independent agents have closed offices.
The corporates will be a bloodbath in culling. I have heard the Countrywide results locally to me, I bet they close almost 50% of the offices they have.
As much as the corporates keep posting pictures of market share stats from RM we all know the truth. Also the staff moral at these places are an all time low (as if it was possible to sink lower!).
For what it worth i think this is the right move by Oliver Blake. Get ahead of the curve, don’t get pulled down with the waves others will.
Cant be long before Countrywide do similar surely. Gutted for the staff.
Makes sense, Your Move hasn’t been performing in our area for quite some time.
Reeds Rains went a while ago..
Bolton has been haemorrhaging money for 10 years, propped up by Swinton, Walkden, Radcliffe etc. Supposed to be a flagship branch and it is a massive burden.
It would help if they paid the staff a proper wage so they didn’t keep leaving for their competitors.
Is it 404 down to 280 or 308 down to 280?
Quite unbelievable that it has taken over 3 years to make this decision after Oliver Blake took the dual role of Managing Director of YM & RR. Definitely a good decision for the business, not for the staff though, sadly.
I suspect 2019 will live in infamy among agents and the herd will be rather thinner by year end. Thinking of those with their jobs on the line.
Rightmove need to decide quickly if supporting purplebricks is worth more then supporting the industry that feeds it. The market is tough but we are unable to charge fees to survive with this bricks fake propaganda.
They also need to stop new homes advertsing on the platform. This is the only market that is growing and agents are being locked out by rightmove selling plots… houses arent even built yet..i am not allowed ‘coming soon’ property so why are builders different?
The only agent i feel that has a chance to walk away from RM is PB, Not for a while yet, but when they gain more market share and their website gains more visits they will be in a position to walk away and leave RM high and dry.
I think the day will come when the housebuilders drop rightmove, particularly as thinks get tougher. Honestly, how much does it cost to run a website these days?. I reckon 90% of rightmoves staff are employed to count the money, 9% to run the show and Miles Shipslade to send out a press release once every 6 months.