Franchisees look back on “remarkable” 25 years with same brand

Paul and Sharon Collins are to mark 25 years as owners of the Belvoir Lincoln lettings agency in the New Year. 

Looking back on their career, Paul Collins says: “In December 1996, I was an army warrant officer based at RAF Digby and I was coming up to finishing my military career. One day I spotted an article in a magazine about Belvoir, and the more I read the more I thought I could do property management.  I’d let my own house whilst I was in the forces, and knew first-hand that most agents were not doing a great job.

“I arranged to meet the founder of Belvoir, and soon became the fourth franchisee to sign up to the network … Working from my dining room was challenging, and I later converted the garage into an office. We then moved to a new house, and I worked in an office at the bottom of the garden. In 1999 we moved to Belvoir Lincoln’s current location. Originally, we only had the downstairs office, but I later managed to acquire the upstairs flat, and the shop next door.

“Those early days were quite challenging but nevertheless, we did well and by the end of the first year, had 50+ rental properties on our books. This increased to 160 by the end of our second year and just continued to rise.

“I think being ex-military has definitely helped, as people felt they could trust me. I’ve always had a reputation for saying things as they are and won’t take on rental properties that aren’t up to our standards. We’ve lost properties as a result, but equally we’ve had landlords return to us months later, saying they’d regretted going elsewhere.”

Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves says: “I would like to offer sincere congratulations to Paul and Sharon on this fantastic achievement. I am fortunate to have maintained a great relationship with these wonderful people for almost two decades and can honestly say that they are two of the best people I have ever met in any business circle. 

“Over the years Paul has been one of the very best ambassadors of the Belvoir brand, consistently offering a very high level of lettings and property management services. To do this consistently and at such an outstanding level for 25 years really is a remarkable achievement.”