franchise estate agencies in the uk, bairstow eves franchising

Ross Estate Agencies

Jeff Cook, one of the directors behind Bairstow Eves’ largest core franchise, Ross Estate Agencies, was "just about retired" when he was first presented with details of Bairstow Eves Franchising. Having worked in the property market for many years, he thought that a franchise might be the perfect way to try something a little bit different.

After discussing the opportunity with long-time friend and business associate Alan Bidmead, the pair had to decide whether to start up their own independent agency, or whether to go with Bairstow Eves. According to Jeff, in the end the decision was actually quite simple.

"We looked at each other and thought: why re-invent the wheel? Bairstow Eves had a comprehensive operations manual and a number of core business processes that we knew worked extremely well. Their training package was also very impressive and their marketing materials were excellent. Even though we both had a lot of experience in estate agency, we knew that all of these tangible benefits would allow us to grow a lot more quickly than we could otherwise."

getting started

Jeff and Alan, who have more than sixty years’ combined experience in estate agency, opened their first three Bairstow Eves branches in 2001. From the start, they could see that the Bairstow Eves franchise model was an ideal way to build a new network of branches rapidly and profitably. As a result, the two men set a target of opening twelve branches within their first five years of trading – and actually succeeded in beating their own deadline.

"Bairstow Eves made this rapid growth possible through first-class training and a lot of support," Jeff explains. "Their input has enabled us to get each branch up and running with minimal fuss. The franchise package gives us a big-name brand that helps to attract serious customers, as well as the resources of a national organisation when we need them."