An online estate agent is changing its business model to that of a high street firm and has announced ambitious plans to acquire 400 agency branches across the UK over the next two to three years.
It says it is already in discussions with both local and national organisations over its acquisition plans.
Movuno, based in Salford, has described this as a change in strategic direction and says it first plans to roll out branches in the north-west over the coming months.
Movuno says that it has tested the online market over the last three years, and will now take the lessons learned to the high street, where it will “create an estate agency model that provides a service like no other”.
Last November, Movuno quietly began a pilot of its first branch in Bolton, offering internet prices but on the high street – meaning no upfront fees and payment on completion.
We asked how the firm would fund its expansion and it said: “Our clear business plan to open 400 branches nationally, personally funded (as the business is so far) by Martin Halsall who is already a successful high net worth individual.”
Movuno director and founder Halsall said: “We are combining the best of online and traditional estate agency, offering vendors internet prices, with the best service that a branch can offer.
“This is a market where online agents are finding that the investment required to ensure that their brand is constantly recognised, is effective for customers, and profitable, is one that can easily spiral out of control.
“Meanwhile, some online agents are failing to maintain an acceptable standard in all these areas.
“I believe that our decision to test the online market, develop our technology, glean relevant good practice and bring this into a new high street offering has pushed us ahead of our competitors.”
He went on: “Over the last nine months, Movuno has operated with a sustainable and very profitable business model.
“We have carefully refined our proposition, packages and pricing, which has proved very successful in the initial launch areas.”
He said that Movuno has “utilised pioneering technology to streamline the service, making it possible to pass savings on to the customer”.
Halsall, who previously developed Agent Analyser software which he says was sold to Trinity Mirror in 2008, owns the ‘superbikes’ Halsall racing team and is also a helicopter pilot, according to Twitter. Movuno sponsors Bolton Wanderers ladies football club.
Movuno operations director Joanne Adamson said that Movuno has three sales packages, £599, £899 and £1,199.
She said: “We believe our innovative, new business model will be highly successful on a national scale and we are looking forward to building on the success of our pilot branch, to create a new and unique estate agency brand in the market.”
Yesterday on Rightmove, where it is identified as a ‘national’ agent, a description usually applied to online firms, Movuno was displaying 43 sales listings of which 26 were available.
Its description on Rightmove makes no mention of plans to make a move on the high street, saying: “At movuno.com we believe that we make a difference by utilising up-to-date, pioneering technology and removing many of the overheads attached to having unnecessary High Street Shops enabling us to pass the savings on to you without compromising Customer Service.
“We give a truly personal service with huge experience in selling property for clients.”
Companies House records show Movuno was incorporated in February 2015.
Its last accounts show it had total equity of minus £1,030,527 as at March 31, 2018.
Movuno is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Halsall Group.
Comments (26)
Ambitious
They have 25 available properties nationwide. PR stunt.
Some of the Pie, news stories crack me up..
PaulC
“Some of the Pie, news stories crack me up.”
I’m sure that Frau Renshaw will be heartened to know that. In fact, some articles are designed to do exactly that – and perform that job very well indeed.
However, her forte is reporting on the deadly serious – and this article is exactly that – a representation of what this company are running around claiming to be their business plan.
The good news is that it will probably be a lot less than “two to three years” that we can all have a jolly chortle that their “ambitious plans” take another change in “strategic direction”…
…and they go “t!ts up” along with the rest of their likes.
Thing is you can’t reinvent the wheel, I could take my team and swap offices with any competitor and within a couple of months normal service would be resumed with them under the jack boot, 400 offices? That’s 400 decent managers running close to two thousand staff, against people like us, it’s a fantasy, nobody gets agency other than agents..
Its 1st April. Lol, lol, lol. Nothing more than a hoax.
If they move into the high street they will be no different as any other national chain and with all the overheads and set-up costs running into the £m’s. Logistics and viable returns … come on everybody … its a hoax.
So an online agent moving into muliple high street outlets…. what a lot of pish…
What a load of rubbish.
What tech have they developed? They use Vebra Alto, which I’m sure has not been developed in house.
Profitable? The most they’ve had on the market is 80 properties, and at the quoted prices, you cannot possibly make any money – it would take volumes many times that to make a penny in profit.
Nope. Not buying this one bit.
“Over the last nine months, Movuno has operated with a sustainable and very profitable business model.” When I checked at companies house they were owing in excess of £1m- I take it this is the same type of profitable business as Thomas Cook!!!
online nobody agent to magic up the money for 400 offices and ‘disrupt’ traditional agency, by offering traditional agency.
I don’t know what these people are thinking! They’ve gone mad!
Its a load of old cobblers, no way are they opening up 400 branches they just made up a number to grab the attention and let PIE do the rest
Gordon Bennett, enough of this already.
Sounds like a very cunning plan Baldrick. Thank you sir.
“Movuno operations director Joanne Adamson said that Movuno has three sales packages, £599, £899 and £1,199.”
Apparently she forgot to mention that, according to their website, “* Prices quoted are subject to VAT”
Which is only just slightly in breach of current Legislation.
But never mind that little OOPSIE! – I’m sure they are well up to speed with DPA 1998 and PMA 1991…
Gosh – am a little worried my average fee of £4,000 will be under threat in Manchester then……..
Strange for such a successful, widely known brand to have only 4 reviews on Google. You can throw as much money at us as you want but don’t forget, turnover is vanity, profit sanity.
Please please please will somebody explain to me just one element of online agency that is new, innovative and enhances the service to the customer! If you’re going to open up a new chain then stop talking about sustainable and profitable and explain why you are different or better than the agents already out there that have years of experience. If one of these huge founders would give me enough to open 400 branches I could make them serious profit just by doing what we have been for the last 23 years. Which by the way includes being online It appears that putting that word into your business plan makes funders throw money at you without wanting it back!
My usual question…
Could someone please tell me if this is a ‘Disruptor’ or is it a ‘Game Changer’. It is important to know.
So let me get it straight…
The online model for these guys hasn’t worked as effectively as a High Street presence would, so basically we’re going to set up a network of Estate Agents. In Offices. What an original idea.
Anyone else seeing a large plate of irony for breakfast this morning?!
Someone is going to have to tell the Emperor about his robes one of these days, but till then let’s go crowdfund the innocent and naive!
Yawn, Movanu is a van isn’t it?
Isn’t it the best geography answer on Pointless every time?
TBH, never heard of them!!
Prelude to a funding pitch?
Stick to racing Martin.
So they have decided to “Create an estate agency model that provides a service like no other”. Heard that before, is that the required speech that you use when you want to get the suckers to give you lots of cash for a new cunning plan?
Online fees but High Street costs?
Surely to god even the most novice of investors could see the flaw in this plan?
So the crowd fund will probably be over subscribed as per usual…….
If only I could find out who these people are? I’ve got some top of the range Ponzi’s on offer!