Massive rise on managed properties for agency group

The Property Franchise Group now manages in excess of 74,000 rental properties on behalf of landlords, according to a new trading statement.

The Property Franchise Group's brands are Martin & Co, EweMove, Hunters, CJ Hole, Ellis & Co, Parkers, Whitegates, Mullucks & Country Properties.

Much of the lettings growth through 2021 came from the acquisition of Hunters. 

Consequently, lettings managed service fees paid by franchisees to the TPFG parent company I increased 18 per cent over 2020. 

“Towards the end of the year, we started to see a rise in the rents charged for both new and renewed tenancies in the range of six to eight per cent” says the statement.

A star performer within TPFG in 2020 was hybrid agency EweMove - which has a mix of working-from-home agents and High Street branches.

In addition to benefitting from the overall boom in the housing market triggered by increased demand for rental homes and the stamp duty holiday, EweMove sold 58 new territories to franchisees in 2021 - that compares to just 11 in 2020.

Overall there are now 167 EweMove franchises. 

The trading statement says: "This puts the group on track to achieve one of its core strategic aims: to double the size of its EweMove territories to 230 by the end of 2022."

The total number of new offices for all TPFG brands combined rose from 343 to 591, largely because of the Hunters acquisition and EweMove growth.

TPFG chief executive Gareth Samples says: “The board and I are delighted to report that the excellent trading momentum seen in the first six months of 2021 continued in the second half. We have built a fantastic senior management team across the group with an incredible combined knowledge and experience of the market. The value of their guidance and support can be seen reflected in the fact that we are seeing more and more people interested in joining our franchise network, as well as existing franchisees wishing to expand their representation.

"We’ve also made significant strides forward against each of our strategic priorities this year, which are vital in underpinning our ongoing success no matter how the external conditions develop. With the support of our employees, franchisees, and partners, we are well on track to increase our market share substantially.”