A number of easyProperty franchisees have given in notice, CEO John Cooke told EYE yesterday.
He would not give a percentage but said that rumours that the proportion was between 40% and 50% were very wide of the mark.
He said that for some agents, the easyProperty brand is working, but for others not.
He said: “This is not unexpected.”
Speaking exclusively to EYE, Cooke also revealed that recruitment of new easyProperty licensees is on hold.
There have been no new recruits since the end of June, and recruitment is not planned to re-start until September, when a new pricing strategy will be announced.
There are currently 143 easyProperty licensees, meaning that a number of 362 territories are still available. Licences cost £500 per territory per month. Most, but not all, of the licensees are Guild members or operate Fine & Country franchises.
Cooke said that all the licensees are on rolling year contracts, meaning that they have to give 12 months’ notice.
He said that a new national advisory council had been formed – the idea of managing director Russell Humphrey who joined from Yopa in June.
The council has had one meeting, on July 18, and is now reviewing the current licensing regime, including the costs charged to consumers.
Cooke said that it had been just over a year since the deal by which GPEA, parent company of the Guild, and Fine & Country, acquired the UK easyProperty licence, with the backing of Toscafund Asset Management (previous operator and CEO of easyProperty in the UK, Robert Ellice, remains a director).
Cooke said: “A lot has happened in that year. A certain online agent has continued to grow, while some have merged, and a number have started to offer a no sale, no fee option.
“We decided to review our own product as a result and make sure it was absolutely right before we start recruiting again.”
Cooke said that of the agents who had given notice, some had been in from the start – the easyProperty proposition re-launched as a business to business offering last September.
He said: “Some of those licensees have decided it is not for them. When they joined, they may have been hedging their bets so that they could offer an online agency but have now decided against it.”
He said that one reason could be that in a toughening market, agents are reviewing their options if they operate multi-brands: agents may need to trim costs, whereas brands need investment to be successful.
Cooke said that there are some very successful easyProperty licensees, achieving strong results.
He also said: “I remain confident in the model. It’s a plug and play option for agents wanting to offer different service models.”
He said that there is still keen interest from potential new licensees – in one recent week, there were 23 enquiries.
He also confirmed that previous operator and CEO of UK easyProperty, Robert Ellice, remains a director.
Cooke said: “It has been a real roller coaster of a year but we are in good shape.”
Comments (9)
220k a month in license fees isn’t bad money for doing pretty much not a lot. Oops, make that 71k not so good…
Let’s face it – EasyPlop was a toxic brand within the industry from the second that bright lad Ellice carried out his master plan of the ‘funeral’.
Its’ best hope was Adam Day – however much that pains me to type it… ;o) – but I reckon he tasted lemon when he licked it from inside.
Think this will be the first real failure in the sector…
…if you ignore the already dead’n’buried EstatesDirect, that is…
A bad idea from the start
Current available stock on Rightmove in these areas:
Grimsby – 0
Cleethorpes – 4
Scunthorpe – no listing on Rightmove
Lincoln – 2
Retford – no listing on Rightmove
Boston – no listing on Rightmove
Sleaford – no listing on Rightmove
Hull – no listing on Rightmove
East Riding of Yorkshire – no listing on Rightmove
I thought my Smurf collection was rare, I seriously need to get myself an Easy for sale board ……
that said I suspect sold ones are even rarer!
It would be interesting to see exactly how many of these franchises were bought just to stop potential competitors opening and simply aren’t being used.
I suspect quite high because I was going to suggest EYE ran a spot the easy board competition.
I can’t believe the Guild didn’t think that might happen because after their pretty dire advertising campaign their ONLY other chance was to get boards up across the country and yet they didn’t think about a compulsory brand promotion clause in their contract I assume.
Bet the company that financed this deal are chuffed.
There are so many low cost operators nowadays that I honestly feel these are the poorest offering of them all. Yes some people want budget fees but the easy brand is all about being cheap. Having the “cheap” brand on a board in your garden is not what vendors want to see. At least with PB and Emoov etc they have good branding. This offering will be gone sooner rather than later.
I looked into this franchise for research purposes. I didn’t think they would work on a long term basis. The cut easyproperty were after just didn’t stack up.
Never forget the words of Jim Keyes as below. easyproperty is neither of these, just cheap. This explains why there are so many disruptors out there, especially when funded by venture capitals and crowdfunders. The attrition rate will be very high.Its a buzz word but sometimes the egos and overselling get in the way!
Neither RedBox nor Netflix are even on the radar screen in terms of competition.’ Jim Keyes, CEO of Blockbuster Video 10/12/08. Disrupt your business and innovate or become history.