An overseas agency trying to establish itself in the UK has taken a swipe at domestic agencies’ love of High Street branches.
iad, which currently operates in six countries including its base in France, plans to have at least 100 self-employed agents operating in the UK in the next six to nine months and is predicting five times that number by around 2027.
It has acquired the self-employed estate agency platform David Lee for an undisclosed sum and is using it to lead its launch into England and Wales where it plans to offer sales, lettings and property management.
Now iad has issued statements from three individuals, each taking a swipe at the traditional agency model of using High Street branches.
Lee O’Brien, managing director of iad UK, says: “We have seen the pain points coming from trying to keep high street offices open when no one is walking in. COVID and the closure of high street offices meant customer mindset completely changed and agent minds are open to the new model.
“The level of care, attention, and commitment the self-employed agent gives you is over and above the traditional model where different people are incentivised for different reasons. Self-employed agents are there at every step and customers love it.”
Meanwhile Clément Delpirou, president of the iad group, says: “I wouldn't be reassured by an empty high street branch…[that] is not the future of agency.
“We’re confident our model will work in the UK in ways others haven’t…everyone will have their own view, but we have seen it work across multiple markets. In every case, agents were sceptical. But in every case, we are thriving and grabbing up market share.
“We have found the right balance between old, outdated models, and the too-aggressive new models that have been proven unsustainable.”
And David Kirby - who has the title of ‘Head of Constellation’ at iad UK - says:
“Interest rates are the highest they’ve been in years. Some people will say this is the wrong time to be launching. But a good market is a challenging market. A lot of high street agents are going to struggle with overheads now that costs are higher. We’re giving them the opportunity to come into the new model with a lower cost base and increase profits.
“With iad, agents can earn three times their current salary. Or they can earn the same but work fewer hours. Or just sell one house a month to subsidise their income or retirement. The model works for whatever your needs are.”
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The "quiet" nature of high street agency offices has nothing to do with COVID. People rarely visited agents office long before the first lockdown. A high street office is there for tother reasons. though. When you are a small agency, you may need to provide people with reassurance of your credentials and the sighting of your office by the public on a high street does that. Furthermore, getting the staff working together in the same environment can produce better levels of energy than if all staff were working from home, for example. I know you can work for "hubs", etc. but when you combine the benefit to staff with the first point of benefits of perceivable presence then the high street office continues to be a suitable environment for many agency branches. If a company like iad don't want to have offices, knock yourselves out, guys. Oh, and you can use it to try and get some free advertising from Letting Agent Today, 'cos they love a good controversial headline ;-)
Another disrupter no doubt. Yawn!
High street agency.... what are them?
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