Zoopla said yesterday it is expecting 100-plus returners as a result of signing a long-term agreement with the Property Franchise Group.
The Property Franchise Group encompasses estate agency and lettings brands including Martin & Co, CJ Hole, Ellis & Co, Parkers, Whitegates and EweMove.
Altogether it has almost 400 offices across the country.
The new deal includes “attractive terms” to list on the Zoopla and Primelocation portals, said the press release from Zoopla which was issued yesterday.
The deal also extends the agreement to use Jupix, the ZPG-owned software platform, for a further three years in its Martin & Co business.
Ian Wilson, chief executive of the Property Franchise Group, said: “This deal allows them [our franchisees] to list on attractive terms on the UK’s #2 and #3 most-visited portals to ensure their customers get the widest possible exposure for their properties and we are looking to ensure that the majority of our franchisees select ZPG as their core marketing partner for 2017 and beyond.”
Christopher Perring, managing director of Martin & Co in Exeter, said his firm had already returned to Zoopla.
He said: “In December, we made the decision to move away from OntheMarket.com after poor lead levels and a lack of external marketing of OnTheMarket. We re-joined Zoopla and in the first week received more leads across our sales and lettings departments than we had done from OTM in a whole month.”
Mark Goddard, managing director of ZPG Property Services, said: “This deal is another example of leading agents understanding the value proposition we offer in terms of marketing and software solutions.
“We are very pleased to be the partner of choice for the Property Franchise Group and look forward to delivering them great value and results.”
A spokesperson for the Property Franchise Group told EYE that the deal with Zoopla will be optional, not mandatory, for its agents.
The huge discounts that the multiples get on the portals is one of the biggest scandals facing our industry
Franchisees are often sole traders; as a result of this deal they will now enjoy a significant commercial and financial advantage over their sole trading neighbour
Rightmove has been at it for years too
Worse still they often turn a blind eye to agents uploading more than one office through one account, thus saving thousands for the cheaters
Both of these practises are anti competitive and should be stamped out by trading standards
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I don’t understand your argument. It’s simple economies of scale – more takers means lower cost per subscription. One of the points of franchising is getting financial discounts and support over being an independent. And you’ll usually find that a subscription to RM is one per franchised office, so if you own two offices you have to pay two subscription fees. There may be some sneaky players at play but that’s always the case.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
If I go to car dealer and say I want one car, they will quote me a unit price. If I say I want twenty cars they will discount that unit price. Why on earth would you think that similar commercialities don’t apply to portal charging?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
… and as a vendor if I go from sole agency (anti competitive someone else called it) and embrace competitiveness with multi agency my fee goes up.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I will not be wooed back as the new price agreed is £100 dearer than what I was paying before leaving and this is proving to be the case with many other offices!!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register