100-plus branches to return to Zoopla in new franchise deal

Estate Agent Today has been told that a deal between the Property Franchise Group and ZPG - the new name for the Zoopla Property Group - means 100-plus branches are to return to listing on Zoopla and PrimeLocation portals in the near future.

The portal company has signed a long-term marketing and software deal with the Property Franchise Group, which covers hybrid EweMove and the high street agencies Martin & Co., CJ Hole, Ellis & Co., Parkers and Whitegates.

This totals some 400 offices across the country and ZPG says it expects 100-plus of them to return to Zoopla in the next few weeks.

As part of the deal, the Property Franchise Group has also extended its agreement to use Jupix, the ZPG-owned software platform, for a further three years in its Martin & Co business.

“This deal allows [our franchisees] to list on attractive terms on the UK’s number two and number three 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” says Ian Wilson, chief executive efficer of the Property Franchise Group says. 

In a statement announcing the deal, Martin & Co’s Exeter managing director Christopher Perring says: "In December we made the decision to move away from OnTheMarket after poor lead levels and a lack of external marketing ... 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."