A lettings agent who sold his business to Chestertons last year has claimed the sector has come to the “end of the road.”

The bold claim was made by Imran Khan, who co-founded high-end London agent Morgan Randall, which was sold to Chestertons in August 2020.

Khan has since been working on setting up an online agent called PropertyLoop that sells itself as the first commission-free lettings platform.

He said: “I co-founded, built, and ran a well-known London estate agency chain for the past 18 years.

“Last year we sold our incredible business and decided that the future was not on the high street. Lettings agents have served their purpose and have unfortunately come to the end of the road.

“With poor service levels across the industry, unregulated, inexperienced commission-hungry salespeople, dire communication, and no customer loyalty – high street lettings agents are the Blockbuster video stores of today.”

The post claims that PropertyLoop is building a “trust-based eco-system that re-imagines the rental experience the way it should be.”

Khan says that due to “mega demand,” landlords need to join a waiting list if they want to get their property listed.

A quick glance at the Property Loop website shows it doesn’t describe its charges as commission but there is a 5% plus VAT fee “if and only if your tenancy is successfully filled with tenants who are paying rent each month.”

The fee also covers:

• Use of the platform for ongoing management of your property

• Tenant referencing

• Tenancy agreement 

• Deposit registration fee

• Rent collection

• Property marketing on top portals and social channels

• Rent guarantee and legal expenses cover up to £100,000

• Landlord resources

You can read the full LinkedIn post here.