Seven new offices for Belvoir

 

Belvoir Lettings are proud to announce the addition of seven new offices to the Belvoir network: Belvoir Evesham, Belvoir Derby West, Belvoir Crewe and Nantwich, Belvoir Nuneaton and Hinckley, Belvoir Chelsea and Fulham, Belvoir Leeds South and Belvoir Perth.

 

“I’d like to give a very warm welcome to our new franchise owners,” says Belvoir’s Head of Franchise Recruitment Christopher Watkin. “The recruitment team is really pleased that these good people have joined Belvoir and we hope that they enjoy being part of the Belvoir family as much as we do.”

 

The seven new launches will take the number of Belvoir offices up to 147 – with exciting plans to expand the network even further in the coming months...

 

“As part of our expansion plans our aim is to have 15 new franchises this year,” says Christopher. “In this growing market we have seen a lot of people setting up on their own over the last three or four years but they are now beginning to realise that a successful business needs credibility and support – and that’s what Belvoir is all about.”

Meet Belvoir’s new franchise owners 

 

• Focus on... Belvoir Evesham

 

Melanie Carter hopes to launch Belvoir Evesham this June...

  

“Before joining Belvoir I was a general manager of an airfield – one of the main elements of the business being motorsports, in particular drag racing,” says Melanie. “My role involved all aspects of running the business, including marketing, administration, financial management and event organisation.

 

“As a qualified charted surveyor I’d also previously worked in commercial property. I made the decision to join Belvoir as I felt that the time was right for me to go back into property – but this time it would be residential property. I also felt that Belvoir is a good brand and that I’d be confident in setting up my own business with a brand like Belvoir supporting me.

 

“I’m just waiting to finalise the premises I’ve found but I’m hoping to launch the new office towards the end of June. I will have one staff member to begin with – who will mainly deal with tenant enquiries and the property management side of the business while I’ll be out looking for landlords and working towards our expansion goals – but my husband, John, is also looking to join me in the business sometime within the next 12 months.

 

“I’m very much looking forward to launching Belvoir Evesham – it will be exciting to run my own business, get back into the property market, meet tenants and landlords and, of course, watch the business grow...”

 

 

 

• Focus on... Belvoir Derby West

 

Following a long family connection with Belvoir, Leanne Mitchell launched Belvoir Derby West earlier this year...

 

 

“My dad, Jim Mitchell, owns Belvoir Loughborough and my step-dad, Paul Collins, is the proprietor of Belvoir Lincoln so it seemed a natural progression for me to set up a Belvoir office of my own,” says Leanne.

 

“Before launching Belvoir Derby West I was a qualified financial advisor for a major bank but I decided to set up my own lettings agency as I wanted to leave the corporate environment and run my own business. It made sense to focus on lettings as prior to working in the financial industry I had had experience in the lettings industry due to my family connections.

 

“I looked at independent options, as well as setting up as part of a franchise, but I decided that the franchise route was the lower risk choice – there’s already an established brand and website so essentially it’s an easier way to start up. Out of all the franchises available I was always going to choose Belvoir as it was a company I was already familiar with.

 

“Belvoir Derby West started trading in January 2012 and officially launched in February. My step-dad, Paul, is a joint franchisee but I’m essentially running the business while he’s running Belvoir Lincoln. It’s challenging at times because the hours are long and running your own business is a big responsibility – but I’m enjoying being my own boss.

 

“My thoughts for the future are to continue as we are for the next six months, building the business and maybe taking on a member of staff. After that we are going to look at some small acquisitions, depending on what’s available in our market.

 

“Further into the future there may be opportunities for us to expand into other territories too – but at the present I’m focusing on the successful growth and development of Belvoir Derby West.”

 

 

 

• Focus on... Belvoir Crewe and Nantwich

 

Richard Irving is currently preparing for his official launch in mid-June...
 

 

“Although in recent years I’ve been working as a flying instructor at Blackpool airport, prior to that I spent time as a property developer,” says Richard. “And, as part of my property portfolio we had a lot of houses across Yorkshire, many of which we were managing ourselves.

 

“With a continued interest in property, and believing lettings to be a growing market, I decided to open a lettings agency of my own.

 

“I chose to invest in a franchise because I realised when we were managing our own properties we weren’t always doing it in the correct way – being part of a franchise means I can now follow a proven system which works. After looking at all the options I chose Belvoir, believing that it had the best brand and the most comprehensive training. 

 

“We’re currently doing a ‘soft’ launch – we’ve opened the doors, are letting people come in, plus are getting all the systems streamlined and in place. The official launch will be in June.

 

“I’m looking forward to many aspects of my new role at Belvoir Crewe and Nantwich, including seeing the variety of local properties on offer, meeting landlords, networking and building up a strong business.”

 

 

 

• Focus on... Belvoir Nuneaton and Hinckley

 

Clayton Foston and Dean Pratt, along with Dean’s partner, Andrea Wright, have recently celebrated the launch of Belvoir Nuneaton and Hinckley...

 

 

“We launched our office on the 8th March and it’s been very exciting so far,” says Clayton.

 

“To celebrate our launch we had a wine, cheese and biscuits afternoon and dedicated the party to Macmillan Cancer Care. Our launch was covered in the local newspapers and, during the celebrations, we presented a cheque to one of the Macmillan fund raising managers, Rachel Herrick. The cheque was for £300 and was raised by Dean and Andrea who recently completed a 1000-mile hike through the Pyrenees.

 

“We’re really looking forward to running Belvoir Nuneaton and Hinckley and, although there are already about a dozen letting agents in our street alone, we’re very confident that we can become one of the most successful letting agents in the area.

 

“We’re very much looking forward to being extremely busy in an exciting and interesting industry.”

 

Prior to opening Belvoir Nuneaton and Hinckley, Clayton had owned a ServiceMaster cleaning franchise, Dean had spent 20 years as a senior accountant and Andrea was a Programme Administrator for a training company.

 

 

 

• Focus on... Belvoir Chelsea and Fulham

 

Early next month Duncan Crossey will be opening Belvoir’s first ever office in West London...

 

 

“I started my career as a commercial property solicitor in the City of London,” says Duncan. “While I enjoyed the combination of law and property, I progressively disliked working for a huge international firm so, in 2005, I decided to do something much more entrepreneurial – setting up and running my own small business. It helped people in different aspects of moving house and was a great concept until the property market started to crash in 2007 and no one moved house!

 

“After some time out working with family in Northern Ireland, where I’m originally from, I decided the time was right for me to have another go at my own business. I returned to London in late 2010 and started looking for the right opportunity for me, particularly involving property. The answer I came to was Belvoir Lettings.

 

“Although many areas of the property industry are still facing tough times, I realised that residential lettings is very much a growing market. In London, for lifestyle reasons or because house prices are so high, many people are now choosing to be long-term renters. Plus, these trends are only set to increase year-on-year.

 

“Knowing personally how difficult small business can be, I deliberately sought a franchise opportunity as I wanted a tried and tested model. I was also particularly attracted to Belvoir as I believed their way of doing business – focus on customer service, distinctive branding and continual innovation – would stand up well against what is stiff competition out there.

 

“I’ve just completed the shop-fit of my new office on Fulham Road and hope to open the doors on 6th June,” continues Duncan. “Belvoir isn’t as well known in London as it is elsewhere in the country, so I’m looking forward to getting out there, spreading the word and providing Chelsea and Fulham landlords with the Belvoir experience and high level of service. London is a massive opportunity for Belvoir going forward and I hope to play my part in realising that.

 

“I contacted Belvoir for the first time last November and here I am, just six months later, ready to launch their first ever office in West London...”

 

 

 

• Focus on... Belvoir Leeds South

 

Mohammed Shakeel will be launching his office in early June...

 

 

“Before investing in a Belvoir franchise I was working for a large clinical waste disposal company as a transport co-ordinator,” says Mohammed. “My role involved directing deliveries, setting up the schedules for the day and co-ordinating all the drivers.

 

“I decided to launch a lettings agency because I’ve been wanting to get into running a business of my own for a long time – and, after identifying what I thought I could do well at and which industry would utilise my key skills, lettings was an area that I thought I’d be strong in.

 

“My decision to open a lettings agency was also based on the fact that property is something I’ve been interested in for a while. I’ve got a few properties of my own, which I let privately, and some of my family members are involved in property too.

 

“My official launch will be in early June and I’m very much looking forward to the independence of having a business of my own. I will be my own manager and the more effort I put into running Belvoir Leeds South the more I’m going to get out of it – joining Belvoir has given me the opportunity to dictate my own fortune.”

 

 

 

• Focus on... Belvoir Perth

 

Earlier this year Harry and Audrey Coates opened a Belvoir office in Perth...

 

 

“Although I’ve worked in the meat industry for about 30 years and Audrey’s background is in events organisation, the property industry isn’t completely new to us as both Audrey and I have been landlords ourselves,” says Harry.

 

“We decided to open a lettings agency as lettings was something we were already familiar with and we identified the franchise route as the way forward because it was a way to enter a growing market with back up. We looked at quite a number of franchise opportunities and, after investigating the profiles of the different companies online, we short-listed Belvoir. During a visit to Central Office to meet the team we were quickly convinced that they were the right people to go with.

 

“We officially launched Belvoir Perth during the first week of February and I am really enjoying running the business so far. In particular, I’m enjoying the variety of my role – I’m partly office-based and partly out-and-about, plus I get to meet lots of different people. The job is just so varied.

 

“And there’s plenty of room for expansion too,” continues Harry. “At present we’re focusing on our new launch and are looking forward to conquering the local lettings market in the city of Perth itself – but, as Perth is such a rural county, our franchise area is huge and there are potentially a couple of places that we could target for satellite offices in the future.”

 

 

• To find your nearest Belvoir office, visit their website at www.belvoirlettings.com

 

  

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

 

·       Belvoir was founded in February 1995 by Mike and Stephanie Goddard. Its Central Office is in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

 

·       Mike was chairman of the bfa for three consecutive years and is currently Director of International Affairs. He also sits on the board of the Property Ombudsman.

 

·       Belvoir is recognised as one of the largest specialist lettings agency franchises in the UK, with 140+ franchises nationwide and aims to have 200 franchises in the next three years.

 

·       Belvoir was officially awarded the Best Lettings Agency Franchise – Gold Award at the 2010 Lettings Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times & The Times. Belvoir won the Silver Award in 2011.

 

·       Belvoir won Brand Builder of the Year at the bfa Franchisor of the Year Awards 2011 and Best Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Franchise Marketing Association (FMA) Awards 2011.

 

·       Belvoir is a founder member of the SAFEagent Kitemark scheme, which is fully supported by NALS. SAFEagent promotes client money protection (CMP) and provide consumers with a clear message on those agents they should do business with.

 

·       Belvoir successfully listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 21st February, 2012. 

  

For further information, or to request an interview with a Belvoir Lettings expert, please contact Sanchia Gorner, tel: 0845 858 2847/07912 558308 or email: sgorner@bylinesuk.com