Independent agents’ group holding inaugural conference this week

The Federation of Independent Agents, the new trade group set up in May, is holding its first conference this week. 

The FIA has been set up by industry consultant Graham Lock and aims to leverage the economies of scale of a large number of independents combined, in order to secure PropTech and other services at a price and quality previously reserved for large high-spending corporates.

The inaugural conference takes place on Thursday and speakers include representatives from Zoopla, Focal Agent, CCT Technologies, Twenty EA, All-Star Training, Openbrix and the Land Registry.

“We’re bringing together all of our high-performing member agents who will gain insights and learnings on a broad range of topical industry subjects” says Lock.

The FIA consists of what Lock calls ”non-competing, high-calibre independent estate agents who are invited to join based on their dedication to customer service, professionalism and are ambitious in their thinking.”

The federation accepts only one agency per area into membership, and charges agents £295 plus VAT per branch per month.

“The conference is a great opportunity for our member agents to get to know one another, they share the same mindset so that will be the common denominator, add into the mix key industry insights, new products, and future- thinking ideas it all makes for a progressive environment” adds Lock. 

“We’ll be covering a broad range of topics with a sharp focus on blockchain and smart contracts which are gaining momentum and it’s important that our member agents are prepared.”