Is another US estate agency on its way to the UK?

The high-end New York based estate agency Corcoran has issued franchise documents for ‘global markets’ prompting speculation that it could spread its brand to London.

Franchising in the US requires the filing of publicly-accessible documents with that country’s Federal Trade Commission, so it’s already clear that opening a branded Corcoran franchise would be expensive - between $153,350 and $518,000.

Franchisees will also be required to contribute a percentage of gross revenue for brand marketing.

Most of the franchising is likely to be across the US - 22 new offices are expected this year, in chiefly high-value locations such as California, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Florida, Washington and Massachusetts - but international expansion is on the agenda too.

Century 21, Keller Williams and Berkshire Hathaway are three high-profile examples of US-owned agencies that have come to the UK: is Corcoran set to follow suit?

Senior vice president of global development, Alvaro Cardenas, will be responsible for overseeing the Corcoran franchise rollout in both US and global markets.  

"Corcoran's expansion into new markets is a unique and rare chance for brokerage firms to affiliate with one of the most powerful real estate brands. We are pleased that we can now begin discussions with the many prospective franchisees who have expressed interest" he says.

Prospective franchisees have numerous hoops to jump through in addition to finding the high fees.

“We will conduct an inspection of your proposed office location to determine if it meets our then current standards for Corcoran brokerage offices” says the filed documents.