Hybrid EweMove outshines traditional agencies, suggests parent firm

The EweMove hybrid agency has been singled out for special praise in a trading statement from its parent company, which also operates five traditional bricks and mortar agencies.

The Property Franchise Group owns the national Martin & Co agency chain, along with four big regional operations - CJ Hole, Ellis & Co, Parkers and Whitegates.

However, in its latest trading statement issued by TPFG for the past six weeks since the resumption of the housing market, it is its hybrid operation EweMove which is most prominently praised.

“EweMove, the group’s digitally enabled, hybrid sales and lettings brand, showed the strength of its model over the period, and particularly in June as it was able to quickly convert increased interest in the sales market into new business. It set new records for sales listings in the month, up 17 per cent on its previous peak, and sales agreed up 49 per cent on its previous peak” says the statement.

More generally, TPFG reports a strong performance across the half year as well as a return to growth in June. 

Over the first half of 2020, despite the Coronavirus crisis, the group’s revenue was £5.2m, scarcely down on the £5.4m recorded in the same period last year. 

Management service fees, supported by 58,000 tenanted properties also showed good resilience at £4.2m, down from £4.6m.

In June alone the five traditional brands’ network revenue was up five per cent on the same month of 2019. Lettings revenue was up 12 per cent.

"Over the past few months we have worked tirelessly to ensure that our franchisees had the best possible support and information available to them so they could navigate their way through the Covid-19 crisis, and these figures demonstrate the clear benefits this has delivered” explains Gareth Samples, TPFG’s new chief executive.

“The group remains mindful that the UK housing market may still be prone to a level of uncertainty and we will continue to exercise appropriate caution. That said, our strong balance sheet and continued cash generating capabilities puts us in an excellent position to be able to provide further dividend income to investors and to take advantage of opportunities that will no doubt arise.”