Members of staff at the LSL Your Move and Reeds Rains brands are today facing a crucial day.
Sources tell us that employees affected by LSL’s radical restructure are expecting their third redundancy consultation today.
The firm has previously said that 308 owned branches will be cut to 144.
According to Alliance News, LSL will merge 81 neighbouring branches of Your Move and Reeds Rains, franchise off 40 existing ones, and close 43 branches. This will reduce the Your Move and Reeds Rains estate to 280 branches from 404.
The restructure will be costly, with LSL saying that it is setting aside £15m.
Staff sources say they have not been given actual numbers as to redundancies, but claim that premises have been shut and furniture removed.
We asked about redundancy numbers and which offices were closing.
A spokesperson for LSL told EYE yesterday afternoon: “The creation of keystone branches across Your Move and Reeds Rains will lead to some branches merging and others closing.
“Some staff continue to be in consultation and we remain focused on supporting them through this process.”
Comments (11)
I was in a LSL meeting with branch managers. The Regional Director was asked about how LSL values staff and he said – we give you death in service benefit so that proves LSL care! Hearing this several other Directors present laughed along.
The branch managers there were shocked but then knew they were of zero value to LSL. Fortunately I was not staying with LSL and moved on to a much better firm the next month.
LSL is struggling from the management down. The branch network is being decimated by Directors who badly are out of their depth! This programme has collapsed the morale of remaining LSL staff who are wondering just when they will be made redundant !!!
What, so if you die whilst actually at work/on an appointment your family get a payment? That’s actually quite nice… Not proof that they care on it’s own, but a nice extra touch…
Most companies offer death in service. Your family get a payment between 1 and 4 years wage should you pass away (does not have to be at work) Its incredibly cheap for them to provide and a tax write off.
House sales drive everything else-loose the volume and its a road to nowhere.Silly
Tranmsaction volumes are reducing, year on year on year. The affordability of £ means that when couples move in together the spare property can be retained, not sold and will generate an income greater than the cost of owning it. When people die it makes sense that properties are kept rather than sold and despite the changes in taxation on BTL renting out property is still a better investment than a ha’pence for every pound lodged with building society or pension annuity.
Transactions are contracting at about 2% a year so 10 years on from the crash, prices might have recovered (a bit) but transactions are down about 10%. Fee erosion (which i was told I was imagining) adds to the pressure on sales income and then a market which many negotiators have never witnessed before all create a perfect storm.
Corporate and independent agencies are in a fight for saleable instructions, the surety of a salary in a difficult market might be a benefit for a short wile but ultimately it can make corporate branches feel isolated from a recession that’s happening around them. Sadly there comes a time when the FD’s has to act.
Himanshu took Countrywide back to basics LSL are following a similar path.
Independent agents don’t have this sort of corporate uncertainty hanging over them but they ought to have a weather eye on good costs turning bad.
It may be costley with the restructuring but i have seen the figures for 2018 trading for a number of branches, believe me this will save them money. Some of the figures i have seen a branch do in a year you would do in a month.
“The restructure will be costly, with LSL saying that it is setting aside £15m.”
I realise that things needs to be streamlined to protect the ongoing business – but that line just seems a bit obscene when the staff are currently being treated like battery chickens.
I’m sure it’s all about scale and how far that money will go – but it smacks of puff.
JMHO
The strategy of the board goes something like this.
Our customers need well located but bigger stores (lets call them key stones) to purchase their groceries (I mean to buy/sell houses)
Rather than stregically located smaller stores, we will have much bigger ones covering a much wider area. Our loyal shoppers will most certainly use these, as they will not wish to use local shops, they will remain loyal to our terrific brand offering fresh produce at better prices.
Our market share will prosper
END
You mean a “Retail” strategy? That’ll surely work!
They should have ghost offices with part time mums keeping them open with regional valuers They will regret losing their 24 hour a day shop adverts.
If anyone requires advice contact me. Shutting down shops that cost millions each to create in the 90’s is plain stupid.
Taking down the signage, whitewashing the windows, cutting off the heating & telling staff to sit in the office from opening to closing time for a week until they find out if they have a future or not doesn’t seem very supportive.