Share prices of both The Property Franchise Group and Countrywide rose yesterday following their reports to the London stock exchange.
Shares in TPFG shot up over 7% to end the day at around 179p – a record high.
The group delivered a positive trading update yesterday, saying that its management fee income for the first half of this year was at a record.
Investors seemed to brush off news that its highly successful CEO, Ian Wilson, has given notice of his retirement at the age of 55.
However, Wilson will serve a long notice of over 17 months, and is not due to leave until the end of next year. The hunt for his successor is already on.
Countrywide shares meanwhile rose some 10% to end the day at about 5p.
While it announced huge losses yesterday, these were significantly down from the same period last year – at £37.7m, down from £206.4m.
It also announced an extension of its loans package, and said that its recovery plan was beginning to work. It confirmed branch closures in the first half of this year, but did not give a number.
Comments (24)
Knowing what is ‘hyper-successful’ would be interesting, but knowing how many sales a month on average do EweMove franchisees complete would give a better overall picture? The answer will help determine whether Hillofwad71 has a point here.
Forgetting the ewemustbejoking smokescreen, the comment, ‘Investors seemed to brush off news that its highly successful CEO, Ian Wilson, has given notice of his retirement ‘ is disingenuous. Yes,The City have been comforted that even in torrid times, TPFG have done ok comparatively but it must also welcome the news of Wilson’s departure. This will put the group in play and without Wislon as an obstacle. Watch out for a reopening of talks between them and Belvoir. Unless, there is a radical shift in fortunes and Govt policy post B-word, merger/consolidation between groups like these will be the only sensible course.
HillofWad consistently misrepresents information about EweMove and hijacks any story about EweMove or The Property Franchise Group for his own, I have to say, rather odd obsessions.
I have engaged with him personally and offered further insight and information to him directly but he doesn’t really want to know the real details. Some franchisees are hyper-successful, some don’t make it. The rest outperform the average in the UK agency sector. He just likes trying to position himself as all-knowing, when he isn’t. Shame really.
You cannot deny your incredibly high faliure rate.
Some do okay most do not.
The shame is you marketing to indivduals that its easy to not only make a living but also prosper. The amount of failures would indicate there is not much support from the franchisor in my opinion.
HS2 – how do you define ‘hyper-successful’?
“Some dont make it”
Call me old fashioned but that comment shows a distinct lack of empathy to the many failed franchisees I listed here last week .
Not a good trait for a shepherd
Hundreds and thousand of £ of personal debt accrued by those who could at least afford it some struggling on for 4 years debts increasing .
Surely as Head Shepherd you should have intervened much earlier to mitigate their losses .
This is not misrepresentation but a matter of public record at Companies House
Check this link, could be good for Investors :))
https://thenegotiator.co.uk/ewemove-helps-parent-company-tpfg-achieve-record-revenues/?fbclid=IwAR1HNg41RrVslVkzjlrS4gTurm_HrzXb3NGRVR0NXEHOX1N24SZuXzPvdDs
Maybe so but this has been at the expense of failed and failing farnchisees
This is a short term policy
Gone are the days that the HS can milk franchiseess for £20k ” golden ticket” entry fees Investors tend to look beyond the hype.
Now having to resort to employing LPPs where “£250” per board and 20% of the action doesnt butter many parsnips
Find me one who is making a half decent living on that basis ?
Just ask one of the first recruits on that basis EWEMOVE Stroud recruited May 2018 already left for greener pastures
He excitedly said as he was hooked in “EweMove says LPPs will also be able to earn money from generating referrals for mortgages and conveyancing of approximately £100 per completed sale. One of the first to join is Darren Loftus , who is now operating as an LPP in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
“I’ve worked with estate agency for 13 years and was keen for a new challenge, so when the EweMove LPP offer came about, I didn’t hesitate,” he says. “EweMove is going places and I want to be a part of that.”
Earlier this year moved very quickly to CGT Lettings
Mr Loftus said: “Having built my business from the ground up, I’m delighted to know that it’ll be in safe hands with CGT Lettings Ltd.
“I wouldn’t have trusted any other agent in the area with the relationships I’ve built with my tenants and landlords. I’m also very excited to be joining CGT in a brand-new role to launch a sales and investments arm.”
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HoW71 As a EweMove franchisee I am so bored of hearing your boring and incessant jibes at our business. Why don’t you spend a little more time on your exciting surveying business and less on analysing ours. Some of us will succeed and some of us will fail, that’s business life John. What the Head Shepherd doesn’t self promote is that EweMove offer a huge array of training and support free of charge and a huge amount of success sharing. You can’t pin all the individual failures on the business. We, the franchisees have to take our share of the failure. So get off your soapbox, back to the exciting world of surveying and leave us to get on with our own business without having to hear you taking a cheap shot at every opportunity. Gio was right to point out the most recent press release about our success. What most people fail to point out is that this is a lifestyle business, it allows us the flexibility of not necessarily being a 9-5 job, this is no ordinary estate agency.
As already mentioned I am an investor not a practitoner. So it is time still well spent reading between the hype avoiding a “value trap”
I am sure you are an excellent franchisee like many others in the fold.
Lions led by sheep
You seem to show very little sympathy for your fellow flock members who have incurred hundreds and thousands of personal loss.
It is an obscene amount
Maybe you ought to start a whip to help those unfortunate members of your flock who are in dire straits
What sort of company profits from the failure of its franchisees ?
“Some of us will succeed and some of us will fail, that’s business life” That comment really doesnt cover the amount and cost of failures which just vanish quietly leaving the poor franchisees to suffer the consequences
Maybe they ought to take a leaf out of Belvoirs recruitment book?
Why do you think they aren’t suffering a similar number of casualties
Serious question HofW71. You seem well informed about Ewemove and very angry about them too. What have they done to you personally? Are you a failed franchisee?
No I am not a practicing agent I mainly invest and just undertaking some due diligence I haven’t liked what I have found. Yes very angry that inexperienced people have been suckered in without experience and suffered life changing losses Its also dismissive of the training and experience required for the job or maybe you are quite happy with that !
Arguably, if this hypothetic late in life couple weren’t going to do their due diligence before sinking their money into the scheme, then they were likely to suckered whatever choice they made about their pension pot.
I’ve no experience of Ewemoov, so no axe to grind here – but there is an element of caveat emptor surely?
Like most Business Ventures there is a risk and not necessarily a pot of gold at the bottom of the rainbow. You have to make an educated appraisal, SWOT analysis and decide will this venture make me money ?I know 100% that other Franchise businesses in other sectors don’t ALL make money and that’s the risk. There are no hidden promises and they are assessed to make sure they can achieve their goals that they want. Obviously, Hillofwad1 is not telling the truth that he is just an investor and has had probably some dealings with Ewemove in the past and maybe didn’t reach the standards, which is good for him as he would have also lost his money……a blessing in disguise for him maybe. I would just focus on your own achievements and aims in life as this must be absorbing a good part of yours. Try and have a Can do attitude in your own business rather than a CAN’T do for others.
Gio Tum Well clearly you must be a TPFG franchisee somehow trying to justify the carnage Think what you like but my only contact with Ewemove was made with a view to investing I chose to invest in Belvoir where the casualties are few and far between
Just a brief trawl thru the CVs of some of their franchisees who failed -there is no surprise of the number of failures
Yes of course but they certainly make it look inviting in theri come on
” Potential returns with EweMove are significant, with annual turnover of over £100k achevable”
They highlight the successful case of Georgia Day who in fact has left the business with a loss
“Income from property sales could be the most lucrative part of your business and it’sthe fastest way to the cash. Given the outstanding VIP personal service that you’ll be giving, you could be charging fees of between 1% and 2.5% of the sale price.”
“Industry statistics show that even a very poorly performing sales agent can comfortably sell one property per week and most established businesses sell at least two or three times that2
This statement does not marry with what is happening at Ewemove and misleading Very few franchisees are selling more than 2/.3 a week very few ,indeed !!!!!
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So you are an Estate Agent if you are with Belvoir unless they are selling Fruit and Veg aswell. Can you share with us your fantastic business success model as we want to know how it’s done. Companies House number will be suffice. Thanks
He said he’s an investor, not an estate agent. Pay attention
LOL I am invested in Belvoir as a shareholder not a franchisee !
I hope you are not implying that Belvoir have suffered a similar amount of franchisee failures as Ewemove !
I think the point HOW is trying to make here is Ewemove set out that owning a franchise with no agency experience is easy.
I myself have been critical of their recruitment process numerous times.
What HOW has evidenced (And why still no story form either of the industry’s news sites is beyond me) beyond doubt is a lot of franchises are not only losing their life savings but also accumulating life changing debt.
Surely as a responsible franchiser this would be worrying and should be halted to stop further members of the public going down the same route.
For clarity Martin & Co, CJ Hole etc are also part of TPFG and have nowhere near as high failure rate.
Check the link below regarding Ewemove…it could be good for Investors Hillofwad1 :))
https://thenegotiator.co.uk/ewemove-helps-parent-company-tpfg-achieve-record-revenues/?fbclid=IwAR1HNg41RrVslVkzjlrS4gTurm_HrzXb3NGRVR0NXEHOX1N24SZuXzPvdDs
TPFG announcing that revenues are up at Ewemove must be a knife twist in the wounds of the failed Ewemove franchisees who have suffered hundreds and thousands of £s of personal losses who have paid for it
Over 1 pcm this calendar year
Many of those that are currently trading with insufficent instructions to make any inroads into deficits
Many husband and wife teams who have arrived late in life to start a new career with nil experience carryung huge deficits
THE FROTHY HEADLINES -THE HOOKS
Money, Money… Money”
“
There are significant income earning opportunities and the potential to create a saleable business with substantial value in its own right.”
Tell that one to the failed franchisees who have lost all their money with nothing to sell;;
After your first year, you’ll be firmly established and have a steady flow of business. In fact, you’ll only need to be selling one property per month to cover your licence fee, and you get to choose how you spend the rest of your profit !!!!!!!!!
Certainly the majority of franchisees arent seeing a steady flow of business after their first year and a number not selling1pcm
To become successful as a EweMove franchisee, previous experience is not necessary.
FRANCHISE GROWTH
Well this year it looks very much like carbon zero as the number of new recruits haven’t replaced the lost franchises . Big City losses for W Midlands -no representation here in the Second City .now
Altrincham, Salford, and Bolton North down like ninepins this year in Manchester
In the London area, Streatham, Croydon ,Laindon Park gone following Walthamstow last year. New entrant at Southwark & New Cross
Cardiff gone leaving Wales -the Land of Sheep a complete open field.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
They highlight in their spiel the “successful”case of franchisee Georgia Day who ran the COLCHESTER WEST franchise as a shining example. Yet she packed up recently after 4 years .Her latest set of accounts showing a deficit of (£24.217)
There is no current franchise for Colchester so was that a saleable business ?
“I had over 50 properties under rental management earning £42k a year” We signed up £18,000 of commission income in our first month, making an immediate return on our investment. It hits my bank every month and that’s before the big fees from sales.
“As a EweMove franchisee, you’ll have relatively little to do once you’ve moved a great tenant into a property.”
If only if it was that simple!!
And finally, …we believe in being as upfront and transparent as possible. And that approach applies to the people we feel will make the best EweMove franchisees.
Does that stem to informing potential franchisees of the risks ,number of casualties and the horrendous debts incurred ?
This is a seriously biased comment if there are so many failures then those EweMove franchises that succeed must be doing very well indeed to create the performance reported today. The difference will be the franchisee not EweMove. Business is business I don’t believe anyone was or is misled , some business owners fail in any field , I understand the desire to blame but failure is nearly always down to the individuals , wether they bought the wrong franchise for them or didn’t listen to the how to do it the EweMove way thinking they know best etc . Not saying EweMove is perfect but very good friends of mine have created a very good business and brilliant lifestyle for themselves and their families. There are no guarantees of success if there was everyone would do it.
All they reported was revenue was up for Ewemove. It remains to be seen what the overall picture is
There are a number of Ewemove franchisees doing very well indeed and all credit to them.These include Beverley where the franchisee has had no previous experience but these are the exceptions that prove the rule .
In addition at Basingstoke and Barnstaple a group of experienced agents have migrated and are also doing very well indeed
Which category do your friends fit in and what are their thoughts on the depressing number of casualties still dropping at the rate of 1pcm ?
am puzzled how anyone can find this acceptable with their overly optimistic pitch for recruits
the vast majority are struggling .Go and have a look on Zoopla and at Companies House
The information is all there to formulate your own opinion .
Its almost as if they have been left to wither on the vine
Go into Companies house and look for Ewemove Kiddermisnter, Maidstone The recent failure Redhill & Reigate and view the damage or perhaps check some of the existing ones with a small number of instructions and take a look at their accounts. It would be unfair to name those currently trading
Its about the health of the flock not the prize rams
These are meant to be the nice guys!!!
The former owners have a lot to answer for taking the money and running at the first t opportunity One is an Angel Investor maybe some of the failed one he could offer a helping hand