Self-Employed Surge - agency has 100 new applicants since January

A company which was once an early adopter of using a central resource for self-employed agents working under its name, says it’s had 100 applicants so far this year.

“Our most recent cohort range from ex-branch managers to global marketing executives, who want to run their own estate agency with our support and provide sellers and buyers with bespoke and high quality services” explains Paul Clarke, co-founder of Mr and Mrs Clarke. 

The company describes its agents as “the type of person you want selling your home” and Clarke suggests interest has been driven by people using lockdown to reassess their work “and making the decision that they want to take control of their lives, leave corporate culture and work in ways that are fulfilling and lucrative.”

New operators - the company calls them “partners” - will be launching in Cornwall, Norfolk, Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham & Dudley, Northampton  and Cambridge.

It cites examples of the new agents includes one who worked with a holiday letting company, another being a former branch manager at an independent agency, and an individual who “ran a global property advertising agency.” 

The company also says it will have 20 partners operating by the end of this summer and expects 100 by the end of next year. 

Clarke says: “All our partners go through rigorous estate agency training and work with our central team to ensure that if they have never been an estate agent before that they get qualified and have the knowledge required.” 

Partners receive 75 per cent of the commission they charge and get design and marketing support from a design studio in Brighton, as well as operational and admin support based in the Midlands.