Senior Countrywide boss to head UK arm of US estate agency

One of Countrywide’s most senior management figures has become the managing director of the UK activities of US estate agency Keller Williams.

Ben Taylor was managing director of John D Wood.

During his tenure in charge at John D Wood he presided over the re-labelling of six other Countrywide brands - Alan de Maid, Hetheringtons, Vanet, Fitz-Gibbon, APW Lettings, and CHK Mountford - into a new ‘part of John D Wood & Co’ brand.

Prior to that Taylor was managing director of Faron Sutaria - the Countrywide brand which itself is now taken over by John D Wood - and previous roles, dating back to 2002, were at Carson & Company, Gascoigne Pees and King & Chasemore.

Taylor’s LinkedIn entry now says he is MD at Keller Williams UK, starting work this month.

A few weeks ago KW’s UK franchise holder - experienced American realtor Matt Fetick - told Estate Agent Today that the company was relaunching its UK activities with the aim of recruiting up to 5,000 estate agents within five years, in around 50 ‘super offices’ which it calls market centres. 

The company will apply its US operating structure to the UK, where each market centre will be run by a franchisee who recruits freelance agents; these at first split their earnings 70:30 with the franchise employer, with the potential for successful agents to ultimately earn 100 per cent on some transactions. 

Individual agents must also pay for the extensive training and IT support that Keller Williams supplies and requires of its freelance operators.