North West's Largest Independent Estate Agent

The Venmore Voice!


Welcome to the first edition of The Venmore Voice. (Name kindly supplied by Hayley - our Lettings Manager of City and Allerton branches).

This newsletter is about getting to know who's who in all of our depts. We're constantly growing and sometimes we're speaking to people all the time and not putting a face to the name until the Xmas party....then we're lucky if we remember it the next day!

Rob will also be sharing some end of Q3 updates for the branches - to see where we all are.

All content welcome (within reason!!) so anyone who wants to share any news, please email me at k.smith@venmores.co.uk and we'll get it in the next newsletter.



Guess who!

The Bosses:

Need no introduction really however a little background info....

Prior to opening Bradshaw Farnham and Lea Rob and Paul had varying backgrounds with a common interest in investing in property dating back to their days of playing rugby together in their early 20’s.

Paul was a Director of one of the UK’s leading estate agency chains and worked within the relocation and retirement sector, managing to build and grow businesses in each sector.

Rob’s background was in technology and software sales eventually being CEO for two fast growing global businesses that culminated in trade sales, before starting BFL Rob was the CEO of a major regional law firm.

Their desire in starting BFL was to grow a business that delivered great customer service in an area they are passionate about.

 

 

Rob Farnham

Chief Executive

Paul Lea

Chairman

 

Ball Percival Sales offices: 

Ainsdale 

Ball & Percival Ainsdale office is a dedicated Estate Agency sales office, situated within the heart of Ainsdale Village. Ainsdale has become an increasingly popular choice for a number of different buyer types, with public transport links to Liverpool and Southport, a number of primary schools and a wide range of local shops, wine bars and restaurant creating the ideal location for buyers to create their new home! The office is situated upon the main road through Ainsdale, with a sales team that consists of Martin, Caroline and Joan. The team concentrates solely on the Ainsdale area, and have seen in 2014 a dramatic increase in the volume of sales agreed, along with a survey and solicitor instructions far higher than previously seen from the office. The office continues to go from strength to strength, with hopes high for the remainder of 2014 and beyond!

 

Martin Hawksworth

Branch Manager

Joan O'Shaughnessy

Sales Negotiator

 
 

Caroline Buck

Sales Negotiator

 
Southport

As Southport most established and longest standing Estate Agents, Ball & Percival is the most prominent and historic agent in the town, with an over 100 years history, happy client’s and successful sales. It is now our job to continue to good work from our predecessors and offer an outstanding customer experience to continue out iconic brand and continue moving the company forward.

Here at Southport we offer everything under one roof. On the ground floor of our large office we have the sales team which is led by Danny Withall as Branch Manager.

Vicki Burton is  Sales Manager with a fantastic sales team made up of Kate Mee as  Senior Sales Negotiator with Kirsty Garton, Claudine Farrell & Debbie Pendleton making up the rest of the team as Sales Negotiators. Also within the office we have Russell Hodgson and Peter Linstead who are our Property Advisors. Our lettings team is also based on the ground floor expertly looked after by Claire Metcalfe & Sue Reynolds.

On the first floor we offer mortgage advice through Barrons Financial Solutions with Sean Whalen & Dave Barron looking after our cases. We also have our Property Management Team led by Amanda Richards with Stacey Whitham, with their offices alongside the Block Management Team led by Brian Phillips with Kim Hunter.


 

Danny Withall

Branch Manager

Vicki Burton

Sales Manager

 
 

Kate Mee

Senior Sales Negotiator

Claudine Farrell

Sales Negotiator

 
 

Debbie Pendleton

Sales Negotiator

Kirsty Garton

Sales Negotiator

 
 

Stacey Witham

Administrator

 Russell Hodgson

Property Advisor

 

 

Peter Linstead

 



Ball & Percival Lettings office (based in Southport): 

Ball & Percival Lettings Department ... What do we do?

Starting at the valuation stage we attend properties to offer rental appraisal and discuss our Management services. We prepare advertisements and marketing to encourage landlords to use our service, promoting experienced team and professional service. On instruction we return to prepare details for marketing, and enter these on the computer system so we have a record and photographs of the property details for advertising.

We have a database of clients/tenants looking for properties which is kept up to date and active clients are alerted to the new properties as they come to the market. We receive a constant flow of enquiries via phone, email, internet (Rightmove) and footfall into the office.

We accompany all viewings and discuss feedback and applications with the Landlords, completing full reference checks via Let Alliance on approved applicants. We prepare contracts and instruct works required including Statements of Condition and Gas & Electric safety checks and improvements as required. Finally we sign contracts and complete all necessary paperwork with the tenant on move in, taking funds for rent and deposit, recording payments received and registering with correct protection system. All move-ins are followed up to ensure the move was successful and initial issues dealt with before file is passed to Management department. 

Ball & Percival Lettings Department ……what don’t we do?
 

 

Clare Metcalfe

Lettings Manager

Sue Reynolds

Lettings Negotiator

 




Bradshaw Farnham & Lea:

Bebington

The Bebington office is a double fronted branch in the centre of Bebington Village. There are 5 staff members Adam, Sue, Nikki, Charlotte and John. This is a fairly new team and has only been together coming on 12 months. Within the 12 months the branch has grown and turned our stock level around to hold market share in our local town. With many of our competitors being well established and 3 of these agents working in the Bebington Village for over 20 years, this in an achievement we hold in high regard. As a branch we are striving to dominate the town and become the agent of choice. As a team we have achieved great results in both sales and rentals in such a short period and are very much looking forward to bringing in some great results.

As a branch teamwork plays a large part in bringing about success however there are certain jobs that require individual skills. Adam is the Branch Manager and has over 10 years of experience; his role is to make sure our targets and the goals that we set in branch are met. Along with this he also values properties and brings new properties to the market. Sue has the most experience working in the Bebington office coming to the company undertaking the role of an administrator. Sue was noticed for her professionalism and her ability to create a sale, she soon earned the responsibility to become a sales negotiator. Charlotte is the youngest member of our team and has excelled since she has joined Bradshaw Farnham & Lea. Joining the company with little experience she has taken to the roll like a duck to water. Charlotte’s excellent communication skills in creating viewings and negotiating deals and also her willingness to learn has given her the opportunity to progress , Charlotte now looks after our sales pipeline and is an influential figure in making sure our branch reaches its goal. Nikki is the newest member of the team and like Charlotte,  Nikki came to the company with no experience in the housing market but has  found her niche. Nikki is front of house and her attention to detail to find clients their perfect home is something that impresses each week. Nikki was actually selling her property through Bradshaw Farnham & Lea and her personality stood out that much, we made sure we didn’t miss an opportunity to bring such a bubbly person on board. John “Mr Helpful” Coleman is the mortgage advisor in the branch. John’s experience and daily help gives us more and more confidence gaining appointments for the branch. John’s strength is making sure we have limited missed opportunities so we can gain the most out of our business.


 

Adam Hellon

Branch Manager                              

Sue Gudgeon

Sales Negotiator

 
 

Charlotte Dunn

Sales Negotiator / Progressor

Nikki Guttridge

Sales Negotiator

 
 

John Coleman

Mortgage Advisor (BFL Mortgages)

Bromborough

The Bromborough office is a compact two floor branch located on Allport Lane Bromborough Village located directly opposite from the nationally famous Muffs Family Butchers know for its prize winning sausages. The branch is sandwiched between Bebington and Childer Thornton close to the River Mersey. It is a pleasant leafy residential area with a smattering of commercial developments and is close to Eastham Ferry and the M53 motorway and has many popular schools and leisure facilities. Covering the areas of Bromborough, Eastham, Raby Mere and Willaston this is a fiercely fought patch with five agents all within a stone’s throw of each other. The branch is run by Simon Paul Skinner enjoying his eighth year with the company Simon has worked in the industry for over fifteen years, with experience in multiple areas of the business and an enviable reputation for being proactive. Adam Hellon oversees things and carries out the bulk of the market appraisals and property listing. Jan Sherlock has worked in the industry since the late eighties and has experienced most of what it can throw at you and is well respected with a depth of local knowledge.  The Bromborough team are an organised close knit unit and are focused and committed to delivering high levels of customer service with many of their clients coming from recommendation in a small and competitive location.

 

  

 

Adam Hellon

Branch Manager                    

Simon Paul Skinner

Assistant Manager

 

Janet Sherlock

Sales Negotiator

 

 

Heswall

The sales office covers a wide area from CH60 – CH61 and also Neston, Parkgate, Willaston and Thornton Hough, we also have a very active rental department within the office. Our day is very varied as we have a regular stream of clients coming into the office and also telephone calls constantly, we handle the sales through from arranging a viewing to handing the keys over once the sales are completed. We also have a mortgage department in house, solicitors and surveyors. 

 

Daniel Lee

Branch Manager

Liz Finn

Sales Negotiator

 
 

Julie Smith

Sales Negotiator

Jack McEwan

Sales Negotiator

 
 

Anne Robinson

Sales Negotiator

Dominic Barnes

Sales Negotiator

 

 

Ellie Collins - Jones

Property Advisor

Andrea Jones

Administrator 

 

Nick Wild

Viewing Representative

Jackie Williams

Mortgage Advisor
                       


Moreton
 

Sam is the recently appointed branch manager at Moreton and her main duties include the day to day running of the branch, devising and implementing marketing strategies to gain new business and overseeing everything to ensure it runs smoothly.

Dave is the Valuer at the branch and his primary objective is to go out and get the houses on!

John’s role in the office ranges from progressing sales to property write ups and everything in between. His main focus is sales progression and works diligently to make sure that the sales are going smoothly and any problems are sorted quickly. John also looks after all the lettings activity for the branch.

Ellie’s responsible for typing up new properties and getting them to market, managing all the property files making sure all the client correspondence is up to date. She also plays a part in supporting the team as a sales negotiator, booking and attending viewings. 
 

 

Samantha Clothier

Branch Manager

Dave McNeil

Valuer
 


 

John Ball

Sales Progressor

Ellie Newby

Sales Negotiator


Prenton 

Prenton office was acquired by Bradshaw Farnham & Lea back in July 2008 from the Countrywide Group (Beresford Adams). It initially only comprised of a Sales Department but shortly after life began for the now very successful East Wirral Lettings Department.
The office is now situated in a prominent corner position, on the busy Woodchurch Road in Prenton, having been re-located there from a larger building on the same road which was completely destroyed by fire back in 2009 (not started by our goodselves we must add !)

There is never a dull moment in our busy open plan Prenton Office which covers the Birkenhead, Prenton, Oxton, Claughton and surrounding areas, as well as being the base for our East Wirral Lettings.

Variety is the spice of life in Sales, which covers a diverse mix of property from &50,000 for investor and first time buyer homes to half a million pound plus dwellings. The sales team is successfully run by Branch Manager Carol Flavell, Assistant Manager James Constables and Sales Negotiators Andrew Furness and Sue Franklin - not forgetting our accompanied viewer Mike Taverner.

Our lettings team is headed by Lettings Manager Lindsey Green who is aided by Lisa Kirk and Tracy Brown.

Team Prenton have a strong work ethic with a “all hands on deck!” approach. 

 

Carol Flavell

Branch Manager

James Constable

Assistant Manager

 
 

Andy Furness

Sales Negotiator

Sue Franklin

Sales Negotiator

 
 

Jackie Williams

Mortgage Advisor

  

West Kirby

The Wirral Flagship sales office at 18 The Crescent West Kirby occupies a prime corner position within this busy and bustling seaside town. Technically the second BFL office to open, Hoylake being the very first back in 2003 (since closed), the building is home to the West Kirby sales team which includes Les Skelly, Lynne Roberts, Laura Jones, Del Wilden, Annie Evans, Jenny Cowan, Guy Roberts and Marie Gerard as Vendor Liaison, (based in Moreton office) and Sonia and Claire Anderson valuing with Christine Davies on admin completing the team. The branch holds a distinctive presence within the town and consistently holds on to a healthy 1st or very seldom a second place within the local market share (according to rightmove stats).

 

 

Sonia Mumford-Roach

Area Director

Claire Anderson

Associate Valuer

 
 

Lesley Skelly

Senior Sales Negotiator

Lynne Roberts

Senior Sales Advisor

 
 

Del Willden

Sales Advisor

Laura Jones

Sales Advisor

 
 

Annie Evans

Sales Negotiator

Jenny Cowan

Sales Manager

 
 

Guy Roberts

Sales Co-Ordinator

Christine Davies

Administrator

Marie Gerrard

Vendor Liaison


Bradshaw Farnham & Lea Lettings offices:

Bfl Lettings have a total of 9 member of staff working between our 2 lettings offices in Prenton and West Kirby. The offices cover the whole of the Wirral and are supported by our other satellite offices. The department is run by Joe Bindley who is supported by Lindsey Green and Jessica Graham. There are a total of 4 lettings co-ordinators as well as our own property inspector and accounts department admin.

In Prenton and West Kirby the staff cover all aspects of Lettings from the early stages of the process from viewings and referencing to managing repairs, arrears and where necessary attending court and evictions. Our offices are members of ARLA, the tenancy deposit scheme and the Deposit protection service to ensure a high level of service.


 

Joe Bindley

Head of Lettings

Jessica Graham

 West Kirby Lettings Manager

 
 

Carla Zammit

West Kirby Lettings Co-ordinator

Joanne Greene

Accounts Department

 


Lindsey Green

Prenton Lettings Manager
           

Lisa Kirk

Prenton Lettings Co-ordinator

 


 

Tracy Brown

Prenton Lettings Co-ordinator
           



Venmore Sales offices:


Allerton

Allerton office of Venmore has a large sales department and cover the majority of South Liverpool for selling properties on there is also a lettings team in Allerton again we have a database of tenants that we find suitable properties for.

We relocated our Allerton Road office in April to a stunning new premise, it's the most competitive property high street on the North West with over 20 agents on the same road, it's also the biggest. Our goal since moving is to grow the stock levels and to get to position of being at least third in market share, were building a team to match our ambitions.

We have HLS upstairs offering conveyancing and surveys. We also have a property management department dealing with repairs and landlords and tenants.

 

 

Rachel Tottey

Branch Manager

Phil Roberts

Residential Sales Valuer

 
 

Mark Russel

Sales Negotiator / Valuer

Sue Reynolds

Sales Negotiator

 

 

Kate Latham

Sales Negotiator / Valuer

 Sam McConnell

Sales Negotiator
 

Jenny Gennis

Administrator

Liam O'Brien

Mortgage Advisor


 

City

City Centre Sales department, staffed by Val Hodgson, Paul Keegan and Jo Hudson. Main contacts we speak with are Vendors, Purchasers, Tenants and Solicitors.
Steps involved in marketing a property for sale:
• Book appointment with vendor, take as much information about property
• prepare a marketing report with comparable evidence of similar properties currently available for sale by checking Rightmove website and check Land Registry database for similar property which have actually sold
• visit property, meet owner or tenant, discuss their requirements in terms of sale prospects, timescale, condition of property, i.e. does it need updating, any particular requirements, any issues relating to marketing property for sale, e.g. is it a matrimonial (divorce) situation
• Take measurements and description of property, take photographs, prepare a floorplan
• Obtain signed contract from vendor, vendors i.d. documents and payment for EPC if none already arranged.
• Type sales particulars onto Dezrez and send to vendor to approve
• Arrange press advertising
• Order For Sale board if applicable
• Match property with applicants on database and ring them to encourage viewings
• Gather applicants for database, identify cross selling opportunites for other departments, i.e. solicitors, surveys, mortgages, auctions, letting and management,
• When acceptable offer received for property, instruct Solicitors to commence conveyance process, liaise with all parties throughout sale process to exchange of contracts
Answer as many phone calls as possible in the meantime and divert to correct department where necessary.

 

Joanne Hudson

Branch Manager

Val Hodgson

Sales Manager

 
 

Paul Keggin

Sales Consultant

Liam O'Brien

Mortgage Advisor

 

 

Venmore Lettings office:

 

Our dedicated team of Lettings experts are on hand in both our City Centre and Allerton offices to cover all aspects of enquiries from potential landlords and tenants alike. Valuations and property acquisition are carried out by Hayley across both branches and our team of negotiators work tirelessly to secure tenants as quickly as possible - most cases within 14 days!!! Our Co-ordinators are on hand to ensure new tenants comply with all referencing criteria and oversee the moving in process from start to finish. All of our properties that are available for rent are showcased on our website and the team are always on hand to help with any queries! 

 

Hayley Davies

Lettings Manager (City & Allerton)

Jade Hughes

City Lettings Team Leader

 
 

Lauren Hayes

City Lettings Negotiator

Jenny Peake

City Lettings Negotiator

 
 

Sean Eakins

City Lettings Co-ordinator

Gail Hines

Allerton Lettings Negotiator

 
 

Natalie Warnock

Allerton Lettings Negotiator

Pam McConnell

Allerton Lettings Co-ordinator

 

 

Venmore Property Management:

Our knowledge of property management is second to none.

The services we can offer outside or let only clients are listed below;

• Repair and legislation advice
• Landlord insurance for buildings and contents, we can even insure your own home
• Tenancy agreements
• Inventories
• Holding of deposits
• Deposit dispute advice
• Preparation and service of eviction notices
• Court document preparation for court
• Attendance
• Repair legislation advice
• Property inspections
• Ground rent and chief rent management

 

Darren Kay

Head of Residential Lettings & Property Management

Sarah Brown

Manager

 
 

Linda Morrison

Tenancy Supervisor

Lynsey Blackburn

Tenancy Supervisor

 
 

Loraine Craig

Tenancy Supervisor

Leanne Hayden

Tenancy Supervisor

 
 

Amanda Richards

Tenancy Supervisor (based in Southport)

Carolyn Boyd

Tenancy Supervisor (based in Allerton)

 

 Jennifer Williams

Senior Property Administrator
Katy Joyce

Property Administrator

Katrina Kilshaw

Property Administrator
Kyle Anderson

Rent Collector

Daniel Brookfield

Rent Collector 
 
Lynsey McKie

Preperty Inspector

Ian Bowers

Property Inspector
 Alastair Macnab

Property Inspector

Faye Allen

Property Inspector
Miles Thomas

Property Inspector (based in Southport)
 


                       

Norman Hartley

Venmore Property Maintenance

 

 

Venmore Block Management:

Block Management involves all aspects relating to the common parts of blocks of flats, or gated Estates, and which includes garden and parking areas, boundaries, entrances, hall, stairs and landings, lifts, etc.. We ensure that, within the constraints of sufficient funds being made available by flat-owners, all areas are kept clean and tidy, and well decorated and properly maintained. We are also responsible for ensuring that all Health and Safety, Fire, Asbestos and other legislation is complied with at all times, and for enforcing covenants in leases relating to noise, disturbance, tripping hazards in common parts and the like. Much of Kim's time is spent liaising with owners on leaks from flat to flat, and utility companies, also advising management company Directors on their responsibilities and forward budgeting to ensure sufficient funds will be available for any planned work or large annual bills, such as Insurance.

Brian has also carried out a number of RTM (Right to Manage) take-overs as well as representing disgruntled flat-owners at Leasehold Valuation Tribunals (now re-named First Tier Property Tribunal). Extensive legal knowledge on these subjects is available should any clients wish to challenge Service Charge levels or competency of Managers.

 

 

Brian Phillips

Block Management Director

Kim Hunter

Block Management Administrator

 

  

 

Venmore Auctions:

We hold 6 property auctions a year in the fantastic surroundings of the council chambers in Liverpool Town Hall selling a mixture of residential properties, commercial properties and land. We have sold an average of over 90% of lots offered over the past 18 months which is the best figures for any auction house in the north west.
The advantages of selling at auction are certainty of sale, once the hammer falls the property is sold and a contract entered into there and then. The price attained is market driven and for certain types of property can result in the vendor attaining a higher price then would have been achieved through the open market agency route. Speed of the sale process - completion takes place 4 weeks from the date of auction.
Typical auction properties include tenanted properties, houses that require refurbishment/repair, properties that are not mortgageable for any reason (this could be because of condition or problems with a lease), commercial properties and land.
Standard fees to sell at auction are an entry fee of &200+ vat with commission on sale of 2%+ vat with a minimum fee of &1,500+ vat but these fees are negotiable if necessary. Legal fees are cheap at auction with a typical sale costing just &295+ vat to the vendor and we can arrange this on a no sale no fee basis.
Any questions please call either myself or one of my very helpful team - Ronan, Helen, Ashleigh or Kate on 0151 236 6746.

 

 

Geoff Guest

Auction Director

Ronan Connelly

Auction Sales Manager

 
 

Helen Wilson 

Auction Co-ordinator

Ashleigh Moore

Auction Co-ordinator

 
 

Katie Myers

Business Development Manager

 

  

 

Venmore Commercial:

The commercial department consists of Tim Garnett, Gemma Worthington and Malcolm Irving, and ably assisted by Julie Ruddock. We specialise in all aspects of commercial property, development and investments.

We sell, lease, value and acquire. Sectors include offices, industrial, retail, student/ residential portfolios and development opportunities. We also manage commercial property and handle landlord and tenant work including lease renewals, rent reviews and arbitration work.

Tim Garnett has over 11 years experience in commercial agency within the Merseyside region; previously working for CBRE and Matthews and Goodman. Malcolm Irving has vast experience; previously a senior partner at Irving Rice. Gemma Worthington has a background in residential agency and business sales.

We have a strong team with a rapidly growing market share. If any staff member has a query over any aspect of the above or is aware of any opportunities we’d be delighted to help.  

An example of what we do....

Venmore Commercial has recently been instructed to act on behalf of Alder Hey Trust to acquire a headquarters building for the CAMHS department. We have recently undertaken a search of the market identifying opportunities providing 9000 – 14000 sq ft and presented options to staff and patients. Over the course of the next few months we will be undertaking a space planning exercise, negotiate terms on preferred options and assist in the relocation. Commercial Agency also cross sold services of the valuation team to value their portfolio identified for disposal. Commercial Agency is likely to sell this portfolio once relocated.


 

 

Tim Garnett

Head of Commercial Agency

Gemma Worthington

Commercial Negotiator

 
 

Malcolm Irving

Commercial Management -           Landlord & Tenants

Julie Ruddock

Administrator

 

 


Venmore Surveys:

We undertake Surveys for our own clients, Lenders and also private clients. We offer Basic Valuations ( sually for Matrimonial or Probate), Home Condition reports, homebuyer reports and Building Surveys.

We do not do structural surveys but we have someone we refer to for these.

Michael and Jon are the Surveyors and Pauline and Julie type up the reports. 

All work to go through to Maria.

 

Maria Barrigan

Business Development Director

Pauline Blackman

Administrator

 
 

Julie Ruddock

Administrator

Jonathan Wright

Surveyor

 
 

Mike Devine

Surveyor

         
Home Legal Services:    

We run a Panel of Solicitors for both our branch network and other Estate Agents / Mortgage Brokers in the North west, we offer a no completion no fee service with online case reports and text message updates.

We have a Panel which covers Merseyside, Manchester, Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire.

Refer a friend and receive a &100 discount for them.

 

 

Maria Barrigan

Business Developmet Director

Emma Sharpe

Accounts Manager - HLS

 
 

Alison Proctor

Accounts Manager - HLS

 


​​​​BFL Mortgages:

BFL Mortgages trades as Bradshaw Farnham & Lea Mortgage Services and Venmore Mortgage Services.


We offer independent mortgage advice so we can source the market to find the best mortgage for the clients situation.  Many clients feel their own bank is the best place to start. This limits the client to only one lender where as we deal with the whole of the market.

Due to us being a key account we do get access to exclusive deals so often we can get the client a better mortgage from their own bank than the bank can offer them direct.

All of our advisers are hugely experienced and qualified. We look to go the extra mile and really make sure that the client fully understands the process.

Our advisers work out of office hours and also on Saturdays.

Unlike most independent advisers we do not charge a fee for our advice.

Our service can only be matched but not beaten!


 

Andy Neville

BFL Mortgage Director

Jane Neville

Compliance

 
 

John Coleman

Mortgage Adviser

Liam O'Brien

Mortgage Adviser

 
 

Jackie Williams

Mortgage Adviser

 

Accounts Dept:

1. Office accounts for the 3 companies – Auction, Estates and Property Management and also HLS1 and HLS2. Maintaining the company accounts, banking fees, paying suppliers and expenses. Recording and controlling sales and purchases, bank reconciliations and providing monthly management information.
2. HR support and payroll facility.
3. Maintaining the BFL Property Management Client account – includes posting transactions, paying clients & suppliers, issuing monthly statements, responding to queries and maintaining the client bank account.

 

 

Alison Walker

Accountant

Jean McDonald

Company Book Keeper

 
 

Dave Hewitt

Accountant - Client Account

Jean Tartt

Administrator - Client Account

 
 

Amy Abraham

Assistant Accountant


 

 

 

Kate Smith                  

Project Manager

 

My role is quite varied and every day brings something new. In terms of day to day activity – I support the branches across all brands with anything they need regarding marketing campaigns, try and help solve any issues they are experiencing with our software / phone systems.

I assist in the implementation of our larger projects, for example the setting up of Moneypenny and the start of our Property Newspaper.  I also collate all the content from our branches and compile the company newsletter. 

** Hopefully that's everyone but seeing as our numbers increase daily... Errors & Omissions Excepted!!**

 



Save the date...

Christmas Party!!



Don’t forget to keep the 18th December free for the legendary Annual Christmas party. We've had a change of venue as What's @ 62 has gone into administration - so we're now at Oh Me Oh My which is located in West Africa House, 25 Water Street, L2 0RG. 

Great food, fabulous location, top rated DJ, fantastic company what else could you want???


Ok – a free drinks as well!! 



Look forward to seeing you all there.

Rob & Paul

PS - make sure you bring a jacket / shawl!!



End of Quarter 3's figures

The housing market has had a lot of positive publicity during this year that has been reflected in growth across most sectors of our business.

Some sectors such as Commercial, Surveys and HLS were in their embryonic stage during the first part of 2013 and the investment made in the teams led by Maria and Tim have seen tremendous growth. Mortgage Services, HLS and Survey still have growth potential as our cross-selling skills improve in the branch network.

Surveys, FS and HLS have delivered revenue equivalent to two new agency branches without incurring the additional overheads of rents and advertising. FS has shown an increase of 70% year on year.

To thrive and survive in the changing world of agency with more competition and an increase of online agencies we need to ensure that we provide as many services to our clients as possible to make our offices a single destination service for all related services.

Property Management in Liverpool has shown some growth however the market is moving downwards in terms of commission fees which means we must continue to change to be able to compete. Service levels have increased and the team we have in place is the best we’ve ever had.

Wirral Property Management has increased year on year, we have migrated some properties from Liverpool which has helped, however, spreading our base away from the core markets of West Kirby and Prenton has also produced growth.

The Auction performance is disappointing with revenues down, we have a new competitor in the City and we can’t rely on business coming to us. We’ve recruited an external sales team and increased our advertising spend to try and arrest the decline. 
 
 

Department

2013

2014

Estate Agency

1053

1216

Venmore prop man

980

1137

BFL Prop Man

209

214

Auctions

464

392

Surveys

92.5

124

Commercial

17

43

Financial Services

90

150

HLS

114

187

Total

3019

3453


 

The agency business has shown good growth with strong performances from most branches, in a market that has seen an increase of well over 10% in market volume if we haven’t increased by that we’ve gone backwards.Allerton and Moreton have been disappointing in their sales performances year to date.

West Kirby, Lord Street and Bromborough have seen increases from experienced and motivated teams, Martin Hawksworth took over Ainsdale in January and has turned it around, the team of Rachel and Daniel in Heswall have been flying and there is life in the City market again.

We have made some changes around the branches, Sam Clothier has taken over our Moreton branch, Rachel has moved from Heswall to Allerton and Daniel Lee has been promoted to run Heswall.


Branch

2013

2014

& + or -

Lord Street

175

224

49

WK

201

223

22

Bromborough

49

69

20

Ainsdale

40

72

32

Heswall

130

150

20

Liverpool

32

46

14

Bebington

65

65

0

Prenton

126

118

-8

Allerton

185

168

                     -17

Moreton

98

81

-17





Workplace Pensions and Auto Enrollment

We have signed up with a Pensions provider called Revolution Financial Services to enroll all employees into a Workplace Pension scheme to comply with the new government legislation.

Alison Walker will be writing to you all over the forthcoming months to explain in detail how this will affect you individually.

Revolution will provide workshops across the company detailing what options there are and then arrange individual consultations to ensure everyone takes advantage of this scheme.



Company Golf Day

Our first ever company golf day was held at Caldy Golf Club and won by Andy Neville from BFL Mortgage Services with 40 points, Andy marked his own card.

Our new recruit in Heswall, Dom Barnes, playing off +3 couldn’t keep pace with the leader, another who struggled to keep pace was Tim Garnett, Tim is a founder member of The Lead Preservation Society and demonstrated this to fine effect by preserving the lead in the scorers pencil with a score of 0 points after 9.

There were some promising looking golfers on the practice ground, the immaculately turned out Joe Bindley was the fashionista’s favourite however the final verdict for Joe was “all the gear no idea”. Running a close second in the fashion stakes was Adam Hellon with a splendid diamond patterned jumper, it’s good to see Adam supporting the local charity shops in Bromborough when wardrobe shopping.

Southport is known as the home of English golf, Danny and Martin should have stayed there.

Allerton were well represented and took full value, the combined amount of shots taken by Mark and Phil comfortably exceeding the others, grasping the concept of the lowest score wins is their next challenge.

Nearest the pin and longest drive prizes were shared between Dom, the Chairman and the Auctioneer. One of whom was a popular and deserving winner. 

 

 
   
   


 



Any other business?

The Biggest Commercial Sale in our History!!!

Hot off the press is that we have sale agree Mount Pleasant in Liverpool for over &4 million.

It's been a real team effort with Tim & Gemma, Brian & Kim, Jo in City Sales all working with Darren who has built a fantastic relationship with the vendor.

Mount Pleasant is a block of 38 apartments and some commercial units that Darren and his team won to manage the complete building including the block. We have kept it at full occupancy, dealt with problem tenants and performed so well that the vendor has stipulated in the contracts that the management should remain with us for a period.

Biggest Auction of The Year

Our November auction has over 60 lots making it the biggest of the year.

It’s been a struggle winning lots this year as the sale market has improved. We’ve invested heavily in marketing this year through newspaper advertising, a business development team in Ashleigh and Kate and even an ad van. ( Kate can we attach a picture?)

It’s finally beginning to pay off with the lots coming in.

Our First Residential Portfolio of the Year

27 Wirral houses for sale as a portfolio.

Geoff Guest has won the instruction for a residential portfolio of 27 houses mostly in Wallasey, the portfolio has a decent yield and will be of interest to investors. We’re advertising through the Estates Gazette which will have the added benefit of increasing the national profile of our Auction Department.

Our own Property Paper

140,000 Merseyside homes will receive our new property paper giving it a greater reach than all the local papers.

Kate Smith has project managed the concept, publication and delivery of our own in house property paper covering initially Liverpool and Wirral homes. The changing distribution methods of the local papers has left a gap for people wanting to browse the local market without going on line. Reaction so far has been very positive with the exception of the person we upset by rattling their letter box loudly at 845am on a Monday morning!

Getting back on Lloyds panel means a record month for Surveys!

&24k of surveys sold in September helped by winning instructions from Lloyds and an exceptional month from Prenton.

For the first time post recession we have been accepted onto one of the major bank’s survey panel. After much hard work by Paul and Maria we have been accepted by Lloyds as a provider of surveys, work coming from this source combined with a good month from the branches has meant that we have won over &24k of business in a month. Jonathan, Michael and Julie will be very busy!

98% of asking price achieved as an average in West Kirby

A phenomenal performance in 2014 by West Kirby has resulted in us achieving an average of 98% of asking price on all properties sold in West Kirby in 2014.

When you add this to the fact that in the past three months we have sold every new instruction that has come to market within 4 weeks we have something to shout about!

2100 calls missed in last 4 weeks!

We all know that our calls are answered by Moneypenny but how many calls do we miss on average?

Here is a table with the missed calls for the last 4 weeks.

City Centre Lettings 309

Southport Sales and Lettings 213

City Centre Sales 212

Prop Man Liverpool 197

Bromborough 190

Heswall 146

Ainsdale 125

Southport Prop Man/BM 109

West Kirby 101

William Gleave 99

Prenton 79

Survey 79

HLS 71

Commercial 62

Moreton 60

Auction 39 
 




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