Far-reaching new cuts were announced internally at Countrywide just before the weekend.
Stunned staff on Friday afternoon received an email from CEO Alison Platt telling them of a “further rationalisation” of the branch network.
She said that “certain branches” will close over the coming weeks, while one of Countrywide’s three conveyancing centres is set to shut.
Another centre – sales support in Cheadle – is also to be hit by redundancies, with a “high proportion” of admin tasks outsourced to an unnamed third party.
Platt said in the email that all Countrywide staff directly impacted by the changes had already been briefed but that she wanted to tell others before they heard it elsewhere.
Her email refers to the bringing together of Countrywide’s “retail” and London businesses under the leadership of Sam Tyrer, managing director for “retail”.
Countrywide, as already reported by EYE, has recently moved to five “retail” territories – down from nine – and where possible, layers have been reduced between frontline staff and leadership teams.
Several high-profile names are understood to have left as a result of this shake-up.
Platt’s Friday email goes on: “Building on this, we have now made changes to our regional management structure and announced, to the affected branches, a further rationalisation of our branch network.
“Following a review of our footprint across the UK, the wider financial and operational positions of each branch, their performance and the overall Retail and London business model, certain branches will close over the coming weeks.
“However, we are committed to retaining as many of our frontline colleagues as we can in their existing positions by helping them relocate to nearby branches.
“We have also announced to affected colleagues a proposal to outsource a high proportion of administration tasks at our Sales Support Centre in Cheadle to a third party.
“It is proposed that more complex administration tasks will be retained in Cheadle along with a small team. Impacted colleagues are now in group consultation.
“Within our B2B business unit, a review has been carried out of our three conveyancing centres.
“As a result of this we have announced a proposal to close the centre in Bridgend and transfer work to our Cardiff and Manchester centres.
“Colleagues in Bridgend are also in group consultation. Following these consultation processes (and if each proposal goes ahead) we hope to keep as many people as we can who want to stay with us, be that through alternative roles within the business or relocation.”
Platt’s email continues: “Aligned to the confirmed changes we have announced and in order to effectively support the business going forward, we have also made changes to our People Team.”
She does not say in the email what these changes are but directs staff to the updated ‘people team’ organisation charts on the firm’s intranet.
Platt tells staff: “Everything I have updated you on here is focused on building a business that works for the future, so we can continue delivering for our customers, offering opportunities to our people and ultimately, winning in our market places.”
EYE asked Countrywide for an official statement as the rumours began to gather steam.
It said: “Building on last week’s changes to our Retail and London businesses, on Friday 2nd we updated colleagues on the next phase of change spanning Retail, Conveyancing and our support functions. These changes include streamlining our branch footprint and regional management structure and launching a consultation process at our Conveyancing centre in Bridgend and a consultation process involving some of our colleagues based in our Sales Support Centre in Cheadle.
“As always, we remain committed to working with colleagues to ensure that those who wish to be redeployed are supported in doing so.
“In parallel, and on the back of a successful pilot, we are now rolling out our online offer to the next wave of brands and branches as planned.
“We are moving at pace with these strategic choices and investments so that, even amidst a changing market, our business is primed for success in 2017.”
Countrywide shares ended the week at 170p. This time a year ago they were 424p.
Comments (34)
Interestingly a local Taylors (CW) office to us all of a sudden closed on Tuesday, with a note in the window saying that they were closed due to ‘technical reasons’. All of that offices properties (not many to be fair!) were removed from rightmove then re-listed on rightmove under another of their offices in the next town approx 6 miles away.
Really sad situation, do not know about the South, but at least three brilliant Bridgfords branches shut today, and allegedly about 30 regionals gone nationally, I believe. This is a great opportunity to get some really good people on board from this once great brand. This brilliant brand in the north has cascaded into the doldrums as a result of the misconception the current exec board’s view the Group’s wealth is in the South, however, Countrywide’s strength and attraction was heavily weighted on the sheer volume of transactions generated in the North. Sadly, through no fault of it’s key fee earners, this brand has been ruined by the lettings senior management buying strong local letting businesses, however, plugging them into a really poorly managed lettings business, which has destroyed the brand’s reputation over the last 5 years. Really sad to see the careers of so many great people in confusion, because the Board think they know what the future looks like. Bringing Hamptons back to the north to resurrect their results in the area is highly flawed, as even when Hamptons was well managed by quality experienced managers, it failed spectacularly! How can today’s model ran by ignorant, uninformed, poorly educated in locality and history, city-types lead this once proud and inspiring business. However, this degrading, slow death of UKs largest agency should not solely be blamed on the current encumbants, they have only speeded up the process in their obvious recent naivety. This process began when lettings management first became involved and the regional manager’s mandate was reduced from 2012. When ownership of their IT was given away at a similar time, the opportunity to take advantage of their market strength dissipated. I’m sure something this large may continue for some time, however, I’m pretty sure the talented Countrywide people thinking what to do today, will go out and grasp the rest of the little market that Countrywide has in the North. It claims still to have wealth in it’s managed book, well due to new legislation and their horrendous service standards watch that dwindle as quickly as the IQ of the USA and Essex voting population has in recent times! Advice – Take the operational decisions away from the accountants and rely on the local intelligence which worked successfully for decades. Countrywide has become what it avoided for years the next Corporate Agency failure, whose strategy has been led by 9 years by the last set of Corporate failures, Countrywide is the new Bradford & Bingley, Prudential, Halifax, Lloyds, General Accident et al. Hang your head Oldham girl, Alison, you’ve sold out to the City to the cost of the North and your shareholders!
The sad thing is I can remember something similar happening back in 2001/2002 I think it was, when I worked for Bradford & Bingley Estate Agents (ironically not that long before they sold their EA business to CW). They got rid of all of their senior management staff that had any kind of estate agency experience and people from within the bank were promoted to those positions, most of whom literally had no idea whatsoever what we did or how we did it. In fact they weren’t interested. They had recently acquired John Charcoal and were going hell for leather with their new brand ‘Marketplace’ where all that mattered was mortgage appointments, to the point that our area manager sat all of us negs/managers down and told us that they were no longer interested in how many houses we sold in a month as long as we got 20+ FS appointments each month. They put in a pay structure where if you got less than 20 appointments, or if you got 20+ appointments but the conversion rate from appointment to sign up (how exactly is the neg supposed to control/influence that??) was less than 80% then you earned no commission at all for that month. At that point I decided to jump ship and joined an independant. Have to be honest and say I would never ever go back to a corporate – in none of the 4 market towns I’ve worked in have the corporates even been a real player – virtually no instructions, terrible reputation with the locals and clearly being propped up by their head offices and other business areas as they cannot possibly be supporting themselves. with the low stock levels (and even lower sales levels) that they are producing
Being in the front line and seeing all the closures and the morale of ALL of the staff at the moment is shocking. no word from your own regional managers who used to care and look after you and be a mentor. Anyone who has any long term experience in Estate Agency has been booted out and the ones that are left are now just ‘yes’ men to save their own skins and have lost the respect of their colleges.
Great individual brands ruined and any market share we had oblierated in most of the towns. Funny though how the Hampton’s brand has not and is only getting bigger and they have for years shunned being part of Countrywide. Some of the branches that have shut in the last few days did not need to close. re branded or moved to better locations maybe. They have been poorly managed at branch level and area manager level and not supported well enough when low on staff or having a tough time. The easy solution is to close them as how are we supposed to recruit decent staff to beef up the teams when the company is on such a decline. Who in there right mind would come to work for a Countrywide brand at the moment. The only option is to employ newbies in the industry and train them. This takes time and we all know the amount of young guns that actually stay and can hack the hours,weekend working, targets, phone calls, canvassing, etc. not the same breed as the ones with experience. it wasnt that long ago that a good agent would happily consider coming to work for a corperate as well as the local boys.
The staff i have spoken to in the last 2 days were only told on the day and some of these are long standing employee’s that deserved much more respect and are already having to fight for the redundancy package that is due as the offer of working in an office outside of the area they are in is only on offer. its a complete joke, managed by ‘retail’ people who have no clue what they are doing and to be honest do not see what is happening outside their precious London market and frankly do not see much it is effecting the branches and staff in a lot of expensive and desirable locations where the average fee’s are very high.
Sad times for a lot of the staff who work under some good long established brands in towns where they have operated for many years and some of the staff have been in that branch so long they get those all important repeat clients. not for much longer and many loyal ones would quite rightly think twice now or just take their business to one of the well supported local companies where the client can see they spend money on marketing, advertising, sponsership, investment….. all the essential ingrediants a successful company needs to maintain and grow market share.
Sad, sad times. feel for a lot of them and i expect the recruitment companies have a bank of cv’s now from ex or current Countrywide employee’s.
As you can see from Platts email, she is rather reserved and has been leading employees on false expectations – The fact of the matter is that she is grounding the company and doing whatever she can to improve profit as since she has taken over the company has be going downhill – Could be caused as the ‘higher management’ that are being employed have zero property experience (For example; there is someone who recently got employed at a higher level within the company who previously was a manger in car phone warehouse and prior to that a manager at Woolworths!!! we all know how that worked out!
Truth is for the business to grow they need to spend money rather than cut back as Platt seems to think the property industry is a ‘Retail’ business – Lets face it… selling phones and selling houses is a little bit different Platt!
The best move for the company and for the shareholders is to remove her from the company and employee a CEO who actually has experience within this type of industry. Countrywide is embarrassing. Also it has been confirmed that more offices have closed on Friday as well as Monday.
I worked for CW for a short period on my return to the industry in 2014 after a few years break from agency, I had worked for a multi office independent over my previous 15 years in the industry, however an old colleague who was working for CW convinced me that “corporate wasn’t that bad” I was offered a great salary and the promise that I would have a large degree of branch management autonomy…… I lasted 8 months……. I took a lower salary to just get out of dodge!
The disorganised and chaotic way services were delivered for customers and staff was beyond belief. I worked in a historic country town who’s demographic was made up by 70% retired clientele. I was called to a Mortgage services meeting to “brainstorm” ideas as we were not booking the 14 mortgage appointments they had set as target per week, I explained that the age and wealth of our customers often meant they wouldn’t need a mortgage….. An area manager for mortgage services recommended that I book appointments anyway as these clients may want to take a mortgage instead of using their cash funds….at 70….when downsizing…….I actually just uncontrollably laughed at him.
That sums up the entire attitude at CW, its not about customer or staff wellbeing or experience, its about targets, someone sits around that board table sets a target and its rolled out regardless as to if its appropriate for the area, clients or staff. The focus is off, its not about delivering a good service which as every good estate agent know is what will bring the profits!
Lots of stones being thrown by agents in glass houses here – these redundancies are just the tip of the iceberg. All estate agency sectors, corporate, independent large and small and ‘on-line’ will all need to down-size in the months ahead.
All thanks to Brexit and SDLT.
You’re on the right line, but not necessarily walking down it in the right direction.
CW are falling first and falling hardest due to disastrous management. I agree the industry is in trouble (and actually many of our jobs are in real terms – we don’t know what happens next), but it is by no means down to Brexit and SDLT. If you paid enough attention, those two events were blips in an otherwise strengthening market – especially lettings. The Autumn Statement is what will turn the tide (that is, if it is going to). Agents relying on their fees will lose income and need to find it elsewhere, and a lot of them aren’t talented enough to recover. So you’ll see medium and larger brands hitting the scared independents hard in the coming months of uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Ms Platt is treating the property industry like something in a piece of A-Level Economics Coursework: “Is the property industry applicable to the typical retail model?” The answer is no, and people are losing their jobs because of her hypothesis.
In short, we’re facing a turning point, Brexit isn’t to blame, and CW is contriving to be the first major corporate to go bust.
…..and £310m for PB.
She’s only paid £960,000 for the priviledge of all these cut backs!
The investors love the Countrywide woes…they are up 17% today on a profit an and the fact that Countrywide are now seen long term as moving towards their online biz model. Look how successful that is with the online sales support and legal..1 centre now being closed and outsourcing happening. I wonder if Harry Hill is hoovering that up?
As a point of possible interest have the readership noticed that Rightmove’s stock market value is 9x greater than that of Countrywide?
£3,478m versus £371m as of this morning
If she drives the share price South enough, you might just get a bid from our friends Purplebricks!!!! That would be interesting.
HA HA – Brilliant, can you imagine !!!
Given that its dropped from 1 billion estimated value to just circa 350 million – (since Platt was in charge) – I bet a few are circling ready to pick at the carcass.
Yes, they may be Smile please…. RM?
Although they could not directly take them over for competition reasons?
However, a data share agreement for CW to mine all that lovely real time and instant alert data on a face to face basis may propel their loss leading hybrid and all those valuable moving related products into the stratosphere?
I guess the daft thing is that no countrywide branches seem to have been told that they are closing as from what I understand there has been no follow on to this e mail. The above e mail came out Friday afternoon and still there is no news. Mrs Platt’s credo was supposed to be passionate, straightforward, responsible and personal. Throughout her reign all CW staff seem to had the opposite treatment.
Is the unspoken plan to drive the share price down to such a low level that the company can buy back its shares – then ditch the Retail cr*p and turn it all back into a proper estate agency business?
I see Ms Platt in her under-mountain bunker, stroking a white *****-cat, the glint of victory in her eye…
There is a deep and far reaching contempt for the estate agents in Countrywide perpetrated by the ‘executive’ as they like to be known. We most likely know people that are, or were there and in the main, they are no different to those in any other agency. The perception is that the ‘leadership’ peers down on its minions and while professing to be a ‘people centric’ business/employer they think that those at the grass roots are just rubbish to be mistreated, disrespected and used. No good comes from an organisation where that view either is or is seen to be the conduct. Beyond the tenure of Platt, Tyrer et al, the stigma that they will create will pervade for many years to come, assuming that is, Countrywide survives and that in itself is doubtful in the absence of a boom market. Without those that are treated so contemptfully, any possible business opportunity is missed as the employees are too much engaged in looking for a new employer. Filling your offices (shops as retailers would know them) with anyone able to say ‘can I help you’ and being able to order your stock in when you run low (hello head office; we’re running low on 3 bed semi’s can you have some sent over ta) is not estate agency. You would have thought that Mrs P would understand this having been at BA and BUPA! Neither of those could be considered retail either. It rather begs the question of what she did in these organisations? For the sake of the company, investors and the diminishing and voiceless 10,000; can someone, anyone, do something now before its too late!!!!!!!!!!!!
Asset stripping 101. A lot of people’s lives are being made miserable because of this shady business.
And in December, too…
Note to self, never work under Ms Platt.
It does look just like an assist strip however, is there any money in. Secondhand furniture and hardware? Driving the share price down to level where you want to buy is only advisable if you get value from what you have taken over. At the rate Countrywide appears to be destroying itsel there simply will be no none left of any ability, experience or enthusiasm to improve things. No ‘bounce’ to benefit from just a dull ‘thud’ as it hits rock bottom.
If it was an asset strip at least there would be a point.
This is just a plain and simple mismanagement of a company.
Not sure if it has been reported on here but Countrywide is falling off the listed FTSE 250 later this month.
This all makes me very sad whilst I appreciate that CW are not hugely popular in the industry and probably rightly so. However I spent some years there and there are some really good people in that business and this is a really misguided way of improving a business that was doing well in terms of share price and results. In a year or two when it’s gone wrong Ms Platt will walk away with a nice pay out and move on to the next job while the staff who have given years of loyal service are booted out with limited empathy from those given the responsibility for it (as I understand from inside sources).
It stinks.
Always nice at Christmas! With luck there is a special place in hell set aside for CEO’s and their HR hench-persons who seem to take an unhealthy and sadistic pleasure in having other people suffer for executive failure.
Befehl ist Befehl
Only because of this story have I wasted any time giving them any consideration; the needy, corporate sorts I’ve come across, the lonely, loveless lives they lead is a special kind of hell, perhaps that’s why they’re like they are.
Here’s my advice, if the firm you’re working for sells out, ignore all the reassurances, all the change management counselling, find another job with people who understanding it’s your contribution to the business that drives profit not their cliché rationalisation and cost cutting.
On point again, Mr May.
In the best the UK market could be Robert. Independents and corps would be opening stock to one another to the benefit of consumers.
Give it a rest Trevor! – If you are not harping on about OTM you are trying to push your “multi list platform”
If agents wanted to list they could co-op like they did in the old days and not pay you the privilege.
However, agents need stock NOT share stock.
And before you say it, there is no way an agent in lands end with an agreement with an agent in John O’Groats can charge a higher fee, you are talking twaddle!
Spot on Mr May I worked for a company taken over by Countrywide and all was assured of our future within I had a successful office small but successful £250k turnover with two staff within the year it was deemed that a bairstow eves branch that could not find its behind with both hands and had three failures at rentals would be the stronger brand and they closed our branch 4 weeks before xmas .
Within 18mths 60% of the business they bought had gone and all but one of 30+ staff had left the business, being a Countrywide employee is a dark dark place at the moment they have no use for property people my advice would be LEAVE before its too late.
It’s very true what you say. They make many promises, and on paper try to fulfil them, but the success of a company is more than process and procedures, it is culture as well, and that can’t be replicated.
How can the CEO keep her job. They have just been kicked out the ftse and the company is worth less than half it was since she took over!!!!!
The branch’s I worked in on the south coast are falling g down and everyone wants to leave
A very merry Christmas from Countrywide to its employees.
But may i say on behalf of all small business owners, Thanks Alison for making independents job easier. You really have no clue what you are doing.
“And ultimately, winning in our market places.”
I don’t think so….because to do that you have to beat flexible independent agents who are more adaptable, forward thinking and dedicated. Top down cannot compete with top quality at the “coal face”.
There websites are all down!!
My friend who works there reckons nearly half of branch’s will be closed by the end of the year.
Looks like it will be just like Halifax.
If you work there get out now.
“If you work there get out now.” If you think you’re in for the “chop”, why leave now (and lose any right to redundancy pay) when you can stick it out and trouser the redundancy if the chop comes?