Paul Smith, the CEO of Spicerhaart, has come under fire from Russell Quirk in a video interview by Christopher Watkin.
Quirk was giving his riposte to Smith, who wrote in a recent column for EYE that he questioned whether franchise organisation Keller Williams was sustainable.
Smith wrote: “I struggle to understand how an estate agency which lists 115 people associated with its six hubs manages to survive with just 223 properties for sale and 70 for rent (at the time of writing). Surely this is unsustainable?
“It therefore puzzles me as to why people continue to buy into this franchise business.”
Smith went on: “Even more surprising is that Russell Quirk, who managed to drive eMoov into the ground, has emerged as a partner in the new Keller Williams Essex hub, along with his cousin Anthony Quirk and House Network founder Mark Readings.
“I think we will all be watching this space with interest.”
But Quirk, who has been under the spotlight in previous columns by Smith, who takes a monthly look at the industry, has hit back.
He said that Smith’s own firm Spicerhaart is “unsustainable” and makes little profit.
Quirk, who founded eMoov which went into administration last December although it has since been bought by new owners, uses the video to express his faith in Keller Williams – which he describes as the “ultimate solution” for estate agents.
And he says that Smith is always taking on others in his column – for example, Purplebricks and Countrywide as well as Quirk himself.
Quirk said: “I think he likes me, actually.”
Quirk, who now works in his own PR firm as well as being a director of the Essex business of Keller Williams, said: “I don’t know why he’s allowed to write these columns, really.”
The interview runs to under four minutes and can be seen here:
Comments (22)
Interesting that you mention rural Norfolk Chris. Just trying to remember if that was the reason why we choose not to take the KW model on at the highest level in 2015 – actually, I don’t think it was. Might be worth you working through the numbers v a “traditional” high street agency owners numbers
I am flabbergasted by the sheer front of Russell & Co, Firstly, Love or hate them, Haart is, and has long been one of the most successful Agencies in the UK, who (unlike Emoov and House Network) make a profit and employ thousands of staff.Both these guys (Quirk & Redings) spouted the same old stuff about how online models would close down the traditional agency, now they are saying the same about the KW model. Back then it was all about tech, now they are saying it’s all about people? Snake oil springs to mind!
Russell, we know you love reading about yourself so humour us with a reply, Explain to me why should I become an agent of your market centre?
If KW is all about training, what experience do you, Mark or Claire Redings have? outline the experience in traditional agency for each of you?.Did both Emoov and House Simple both go under owing lots of staff months and months of wages and did the investors whom you spouted your pitch to lose tens of millions of pounds?
Do the investors of HouseNetwork know that when it went under in April 2019 that it’s CEO was in the midst of undertaking DD on a new business venture?
So Russell, let’s see if you are prepared to answer the hard-hitting questions?
Well, that interview was a damp squib! Unintelligent answers to unimaginative questions.
When Quirk feebly tried to sound a tiny bit professional, making out that his team and Keller Williams each “took 6 months to do their DD” on each other, I assume he meant either Dither & Delay, or Deep Desperation, or Diabolical Dimwits????
One of the prerequisites of running successful business is to be able to run and to at least understand the accounts. It seems to me that SHG spends a fortune on marketing and new innovations and maybe the fact they don’t make a lot of profit is that the bottom line is the stakeholder just doesn’t need to.
I am sure there are floors with all the agencies but form the outside I see SHG as one which employs a lot of people and doesn’t leave them high and dry by mismanaging a business so it goes bust.
Mr Quirk-not everyone who runs a business does it to purely make huge profits-or am I deranged in thinking that’s OK ?
Incredible really.
Quirk already bringing Keller Williams reputation down to gutter level.
Can we stop this facade? What these characters are up to, including Mr Berk and the Toff at Prime Keller (contradiction in terms) is convincing people to leave security of a salary and hard fought employment protection to work on a ‘gig economy’ basis (disgracefully if the above is true by taking on debt) in order to pay 30% of their fee earnings to an American Ponzi scheme, in return for only access to portals but dressed up as ‘training’…. if you need ‘training’ after giving up the aforementioned protections you’ve made the wrong move already…… Uber-Estates would be more apt and at least there’s an app for that.
There is no value in the training in the UK market, the market is drowned with trainers, free training, property gurus etc, the Keller book is ancient. Underneath it all, all that is on offer is roof to work under and access to portals. The only reason these old fellas at KW-UK and the toff are peddling this nonsense is that there’s no more big jobs in agency for them or they would be extolling the virtues of the high street.
If its that good, why are the toff & others constantly on linkedin looking for victims (not busy helping sell houses)? Why are they not advertising they are too working on a successful commission only basis commensurate to the agents’ success?
Why is no one being held up as proof it works with accounts lodged at Companies House?
As someone has alluded to above they’ve not sold anything check their Surrey bucket shop as well as their Essex one…. piffle….
I don’t know either of these people personally but one seems to have run a business for many years whilst the other ran his company in to the ground and tends to talk a load of old S**t. But, you got to love those “industry” people who don’t do the job but love telling others how it should be done and will big up any company that wants to pay them.
Yep. Pretty much the whole proposition of KW! Run by a lot of people in the UK who have never run or operated their own business successfully but want to preach to others how to do so … whilst asking them to fund themselves or take out a loan to do so! Snake oil springs to mind!
Makes you wonder why KW got involved with Quirk’s track record.
Sure the “Worst businessman of the decade” Russell Quirk has the right to his own opinion, but why do we need to keep wasting precious internet storage space on his wisdom?
Can I suggest one of those white collar boxing matches. The money raised could be used for charity or even better some google addwords credit for Keller Williams?
Gentlemen? ……..select your handbags.
Quirk wants to question Smiths relevance but seems unwilling to question his own? Perhaps his home is also devoid of mirrors?
Tit for tat public spats never end well and I’m sure that KW are over the moon at the fact that (in between being ‘really busy’) that the first thing he does is revert to type. Everyone is capable of talking about what they can do but he needs to evidence what he actually has done. The collapse of his last business ruined an awful lot of peoples lives at the time but he is now backing ‘the next big thing’ as the future of EA … until he doesn’t and chooses to back another. He’s a Magpie but as we know, not all that glistens is gold!
‘Huge demand’ ‘Huge demand’
‘Bigly, Really, really bigly’
‘It’s gonna be great’
Sometimes it’s really difficult to determine where the Quirk stops and the Trump begins.
‘We’re gonna make estate agency great again!’
Shades of Colleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy.
The Keller Williams model is based on training. Selling homes is just the cherry on top.
No one cares what Paul says, just uses these columns as propaganda.
As for Quirk he is irrelevant. Will forever be known as a loud mouth that lost other people’s money.
Neither would be on my list to share a beer with or take advice from.
I know which balance sheet I would rather have !
Both of these like the sound of their own voice too much, but there is one key difference. Paul Smith runs a successful business and the business of Quirky went bust despite being worth £100m.
Also i’m pretty sure a business that actually makes a profit is sustainable.
I worked with Paul closely for many years and whilst I don’t agree with many of his opinions their respective track records speak for themselves… Paul is generous to his staff (particularly top performers) and takes his responsibility to them seriously. I know who I’d rather stake my ability to pay my mortgage on! Also, their return on income was nearer 10% when I worked there so not sure where Russell is getting his information from?
Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
Looks like Headphones has hit the ground running at Keller Williams. Searching Essex on their website for available properties
” We Couldn’t Find any Properties. Sorry but we don’t have any properties listed for sale in Essex within your search criteria. ”
What argument does Quirk have here??? In tough times Paul Smith employs and pays 000’s of people and as Quirk says, makes a profit. In this market survival is what counts. I think Quirk left lots of employees out of pocket……. oh, apart from himself.
no, I don’t work at Spicerhaart!!