Alison Platt, the controversial boss of Countrywide, is leaving the business.
Her departure was announced to senior staff this afternoon.
It is understood that for the time being, chairman Peter Long steps up to become executive chairman and Paul Creffield is promoted to chief operating officer.
Himanshu Raja, group chief financial officer since last August and who had been tipped to take over, remains in his post.
The departure is due to be confirmed in a stock exchange announcement tomorrow morning.
The departure was not wholly unexpected after the firm announced in a trading update that profits and revenues for last year are expected to be dramatically down. It is thought that the update was issued without Platt’s knowledge. Noticeably, she was not quoted in the update.
Platt joined Countrywide in 2014, from a non-estate agency background, having been at healthcare BUPA, where she was international managing director.
She took over from Grenville Turner, who became chairman, but subsequently left.
He was not alone: there was departure after departure of experienced senior figures, as the business ‘restructured’.
Platt’s believed that she was running a ‘retail’ business – a concept which baffled the industry at large.
The Building our Future strategy – in an interview with EYE shortly after she joined, she said strategy was one of her strengths – seemed at odds with the redundancies and departures of so many people, and the disappearance of some brands.
When we asked what Building our Future actually meant, her baffling reply was that it was about being “better to be bigger”.
At the time of the interview, Countrywide had 12,000 people working in just over 1,000 branches. But after a spate of acquisitions, rumours began to emerge of branch closures and restructures.
Early departures included Bob Scarff, who had headed up the agency wing of the business, and Nick Dunning. Dunning now heads up his own business, with other Countrywide departees, acquiring lettings businesses. Scarff has become a sought-after industry consultant.
Another to have left was Lee Wainwright who is now in charge of Purplebricks’ UK business.
However, perhaps the most notable departure was that of Sam Tyrer, who Platt herself had brought in, also from a non-agency background – in her case, Carphone Warehouse.
It was Tyrer who came up with Countrywide’s digital offering, launched in 2016 and rolled out across the network until it was “paused” last year.
Tyrer left abruptly last August, with Platt saying that she herself would now focus on the company’s main property businesses.
It is now Platt’s turn to go through the revolving door.
Alas – a CEO who had changed nothing would have survived.
Platt risked big and the risk didn’t pay off. All credit to her efforts but this was one step too far. It has failed miserably since day 1 and this has been on the cards.
Estate Agency isn’t running a shop. If it was, more people would be better at it.
We have given Alison a tough time here (I include myself in that number) but let us at least say “She did it her way.”
Things looking up for CW. Good luck to the next CEO. S/he has a hell of a job to do.
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B*****KS
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Hey – even failing is better than inertia. Can’t deny she has some b@lls to have “accomplished” what she has.
Now it’s over we can at least be civil and put a positive spin on things. Enough ugliness in the world. So now that a sad chapter has ended, forgive me for turning over a new page with a little bit of optimism.
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I just saw Bob Scarff along with all the ex senior directors who left by mutual consent running through Milton Keynes their speedos, waving some bunting singing ding dong witch is dead, the witch is dead. Apparently the share price rose to £1.05 on announcement of the news.
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Splat goes Platt!
….and a huge sigh of relief from the CW Staff who had to endure their rudderless ship being Captained by someone who never got a grip, at times didn’t have a clue and didn’t walk the plank sooner!
I would hesitate to say that from such a low starting point the only way should be up however at least it’s afloat for now!
….and Alison? ….you should have gracefully departed much sooner rather than bringing a company to its knees! Shame on you, here’s hoping any prospective employer looks carefully at your personal performance and declines to take a chance on you. Stick to what you know.
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Good people lose their jobs all of the time
The trouble with this ship is that it is so large it won’t turn on its anchor very quickly
Good luck to whoever comes next, regional and corporate agencies have headwinds they may not be able to survive
It is time for better service from smaller companies charging fair fees and being part of their communities
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Hope there is no pay off , destroyed the livelihood’s of so many . No Countrywide funds should be paid to her , if She feels a pay off is due , let Grenville Turner give her a pay out ! He put her there .
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So, as London is sometimes described as a collection of villages, so is corporate agency if it is to survive, give the structural financial pressures to somebody there who likes that sort of thing and put an agent in charge of the agents, guess what guys and girls the job didn’t change while you were retailing 🙂
( despite what onliners, stock analysts and certain journalists would have you believe )
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Standard leaving announcement?
“Alison is no longer with the company, we wish her well”
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The thing is, as I have said before, it’s a service industry where your greatest asset is the staff who provide that service.
Make them feel valued and results will come from the front line to the bottom line. It will never be a retail business.
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Like so many before, will she be leaving to ‘pursue exciting new opportunities’.
?
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Countrywide was a fantastic place to work, the training, professionalism and power of the large network gave them a leading edge. Senior manages had great vision but a total inability to execute their plans. Staff would spend weeks on training course only to get back to Branch and be told by the Branch Manager we don’t do it that way at this Branch totally disregard it. Branch managers did not want change,they just wanted to watch Alison fail as what would she know.! All I would comment is that those of you chanting you knew best and had 20+ years experience and know better why weren’t you Directors or CEO? Three pay grade promotions in 20+ years and moaning you aren’t earning enough because your branches are not performing who let Countrywide down you or Alison Platt.?
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I don’t know the lady or you, but I will say this
The sausage machine approach to agency of the corporate and regional agents is the brand of agency that is dying; stuck in the middle, not on line, not great service, but with too high a cost base to survive what is obviously evolving right now
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That is singularly the most naive and at the same time hilarious comment I have seen in all the comments on here ever and there has been some serious competition over the years.
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Mine?
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no not you the one above it you were bang on
I do agree with the first sentence of the one above you but after that it’s drivel
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I don’t think that was aimed at you, it was the comment earlier, I agree with you and would add that the problem with corporate is that it’s about bright idea theory versus reality of independents, we ( independents ) do what is necessary and take pride in that coal face practicality even though it’s draining often, cie la vie, I’m solely concerned with our clients not any philosophy or bums on seats, onliners are **** at that their day will come, in some ways Alison Platt and the Bruce model are the different side of the same coin, fail
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Absolutely htsnom
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Are you an employee of Countrywide? All my comments are based on first hand experience. So naive is not an appropriate comment. Countrywide have made some poor decisions and Alison Platt should have shown more humility sooner and admitted that on this occasion she was not the ‘best person’ for the job. The fact remains, no matter who is at the helm that all businesses need to evolve to survive. Many resisted any change, the simple fact is that Estate Agency is completely different today as opposed to 20 years ago so change was a necessity. Love it or hate it,Purple Bricks being a prime example of how quickly new concepts gain marketshare.
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Actually it’s not different, the tools have changed but that’s all
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Thank you for proving my point as is pointed out above EA hasn’t changed just what we do Day to day or I don’t have a hot box of cards now my guys use a clever computer CRM system.
I don’t expect an answer to this certainly not confirm my suspicions but I suspect you have not been an agent for more than about six years and in that time you have been surrounded by some average operators who like to have a reason to underperform and then more recently a boss who has found themselves elevated to a job they are completely unqualified for who can’t understand why some of the older area managers who ignore the retail instructions from above do better than they do.
I was an employee of CW for sometime but left around six months after AP took over as like a lot people there who really understand what estate agents do could see that her new way was fundamentally flawed.
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Im also ex part of this group…i would concur that the ‘branch’ mentality is absolutely key to the fundamental problems with CW. We were a purchase in another area of property byCW but this ‘branch’ not corporate mentality was cemented just when our firm had started to divest itself of this outdated mode of working. Everyone one was fighting their own corner constantly and in my particular area, what we needed was a UK model to fit with our clients…completely ignored…then in the pure estate agency business you would have thought tge idea of online anything was brand new…it was pretty obvious that was the future 10 years ago let alone when Purple Bricks appeared. CW shpuld have squashed them dead along with the others…where is CW online service? Why have you every high st in britain still with 3-5 CW shops called different things and actively internally fighting each other? Bonkers is what it is. Good luck to her..but why did they choose her? What relevance has BUPA with any of the above?
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There is a vast difference between being a bold and visionary CEO or someone on self absorbed,myopic journey. This was not her business,she was the steward for shareholders and employees, her task to add shareholder value. Her reckless and naive management style has failed each group in a monumental way.
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Lets not leave the Chairman and makeweights on the BODS from criticism who have sat back and watched this suicide in instalments take place over the last 3 years There are no winners especially the staff who have been sacrificed
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Yes exactly. I make the point above…she was chosen by a group who clearly are a problem..i didnt know her, but BUPA doesnt seem in any way similar or transferrable…what was their remit to her?
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I don’t always agree with Hillofwad, but agree that the board of directors who have watched this lady destroy shareholder value and build substantial corporate debt are at least equally culpable.
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Knowing Mrs Platt is a season ticket holder at Old Trafford and a loyal Man Utd fan, I would compare her management career at CW to that of a certain David Moyes. She made some ‘great’ signings Tyrer (aka Fellani) and Willis (Taibi – probably the worst signing ever and simply not worthy of representing the team). Like Moyes the departure comes as no surprise and is long overdue. The only problem now is the Countrywide job is not one that a Mourinho would want!
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Countrywide was a great place to be, at a time, probably within a certain brand, with particular leadership.
I was a naysayer who said she couldn’t do it, coming from outside our industry, but a small part of me is sad that she didn’t.
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As an ex countrywide employee with a 30 year career history within the property industry it appears to me that as much as the likse of Ms Platt and the disrupters, game changers etc. want to change the industry, it always has and always will be based on core principles. It doesn’t matter if you are corporate, independent or online, its always been the same. Book a valuation, sell yourself and your service, sell the instruction and add on’s, sales progress and ensure the client and their buyer has a good customer journey. We are not retail, never have been never will be. We are customer focused inline with the demands of the client. Ms Platt, took a company and tried to make changes that were never in a month of Sundays going to work.
I just think along the way, many people have lost their roles, left their jobs and i am sure moved on to bigger and better things. But the same question remains, how could she get away with this for so long, to me there are far more answerable people who not only recruited her but allowed her to do what she has done to the company.
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