franchise estate agencies in the uk, bairstow eves franchising

Countrywide is ambitious and is looking to grow its share of the estate agency market by joining forces with highly motivated business professionals and entrepreneurs. It has adopted franchising as a growth vehicle to increase the distribution of its products and services through new estate agency outlets. Please note, however, that Countrywide is not franchising its own network of branches.

Estate agency franchises are being offered to:
1. Investors and business people (with or without estate agency experience) who are interested in developing a start-up business and who are willing to recruit experienced estate agents to work with them.
2. Commercially minded entrepreneurs looking for a new business opportunity.
3. Estate agents with established businesses who are seeking a highly competitive advantage.
4. Experienced estate agent employees who are interested in starting up their own business.

Yes, as an independent owner and operator under the Bairstow Eves brand, you will have freedom to run and develop your own branch of Bairstow Eves, based on the systems, standards and procedures that have made us so successful to date. With these solid foundations in place, your own flair, entrepreneurial skills, energy and commitment can be used to reap the full benefit of the franchise opportunity. How this works in practice will be made clear to you under a Confidentiality Agreement that will be provided before you contract to take a franchise.

Bairstow Eves Franchising is looking to recruit estate agents and/or experienced business people with a good local reputation and a professional yet entrepreneurial approach to become franchisees. Whether you are already running an established business or looking for an exciting start-up opportunity, you should be ambitious and energetic with pride and commitment to service quality.

You will also believe in value for money through excellence in service, will be sales focused, attentive to detail and well organised; you will believe in supporting good people with good branch systems. You will have flair and an eye for quality of presentation, will be open minded and innovative, appreciative of the need to develop, reward and retain the loyalty of staff, focused on good practice as a means of building business levels and, above all, you will be ambitious to grow market share.

A franchise is the licence to use a business system and its brand identity - its operating procedures, marketing methods, sales techniques, advertising, training programmes, support framework and the numerous elements which form an integral part of what sets a particular business system and brand apart from its competitors. The franchisee's own flair, entrepreneurial skill, energy and commitment are then applied to reap the full benefit of the franchise.

Bairstow Eves Franchising as part of Countrywide Franchising Limited is a full member of the British Franchise Association (bfa)and has been since 2004.

The bfa promotes 'ethical franchising' and full memebership means that Countrywide Franchising Limited is established and has:-

-met the BFA's four key criteria of viability, franchisability, ethical and disclosure.

-committed to abide by the Code of Practice.

- a proven trading and franchising record.

Bairstow Eves franchisees are required to join and comply with the Ombudsman scheme. The code of practice has achieved the approval of the Office of Fair Trading under its Consumer Codes and Approval Scheme and is mandatory for all OEA members offering estate agency services. Such members must display the official logo and make copies of the consumer guide available to members of the public.

The initial ten year franchise term is offered as a five year contract, with the franchisee having an option to renew for a further five years at no extra cost. Subsequent terms will be by negotiation. Please note that Bairstow Eves is not franchising its own network of existing branches.

Yes, franchisees can grow organically by developing individual branches ideally adjacent to one another. Alternatively franchisees may apply to be area franchise developers, known as “Core Franchisees”, and are offered a group of locations and a longer franchise term. Further information is available upon request from your Network Development Manager.

In order to provide our Franchisees with the first-class training that they will need to achieve their goals, not to mention access to our industry-leading sales techniques, operating procedures, marketing and support network, we charge a one-off franchisee set up fee of £15,000 + VAT, which is payable at the signing of the franchise agreement (following a successful franchise application process).

Once your business is open and trading the franchisee pays a monthly Management Service Fee (MSF), which is 8% of gross branch income. This is paid monthly in arrears.

We do not seek to set contractual geographical boundaries for our franchisees. Ambitious and entrepreneurial franchisees should be allowed to extend their operation as far as their energy, skills and reputation can take them. If franchisees wish to develop their business beyond their current sphere of influence by opening another branch, this will involve applying for a further franchise. We do, however, seek to establish sensible boundaries between adjacent Bairstow Eves branches for day-to-day operating and referral purposes, based on natural markets.

Yes, an extensive Operations Manual forms the core of the Bairstow Eves Franchise system. The bulk of the benefits of the franchise are derived from the tried, tested and proven methods set out in detail within the Manual.

The ability to develop both management and staff is a critical part of the franchise proposition, so training will be a key aspect of the support that we will provide. Our high-impact, interactive training programmes will play a vital role in unlocking the potential of your staff and maximising the real value of your business plan. Full details of our training programmes for Franchisees are available on application.

Yes, we have established links with several leading UK clearing banks in order to develop business development packages for our franchisees, subject to the banks' usual criteria for approval. Please ask a member of the Network Development team for further information.

Initially you/your firm will become an Introducer to Countrywide Estate Agents Financial Services through its national call centre or to a nearby intermediary consultant who operates from a neighbouring branch. You/your firm will receive commissions in respect of business concluded by the call centre or nearby mortgage consultant.

Franchisees that have the requisite business volumes and expertise will be encouraged to apply to be appointed as Intermediary firms. Some franchisees may seek to be authorised personally as Intermediary consultants. In this scenario, your input will be invaluable when making a final decision on the recruitment/appointment of your consultant. However, Countrywide will retain responsibility for the all-important training and compliance management.

After successfully becoming a Bairstow Eves Franchisee, your Network Development Manager will assist you in the selection of suitable premises, and will give you guidance on size, location and planning applications for usage and signage.

Once you have secured the leasehold or freehold for your premises, ongoing support for franchisees is provided by a dedicated Development & Support Manager who will assist you in all aspects of branch set up, from interviewing and recruiting staff to arranging refurbishment and fitting out of the branch.

Further assistance is provided right through to launch day and beyond with the planning and setting up of launch-related marketing campaigns and with the hands-on installation of our franchise operating system.

Our support also includes major costs savings through franchisor and Countrywide purchasing deals, time-saving single-source supply facilities and third-party technical and IT support.