Sam Lakin and Pete Croft, Hunters Franchise Partners
After a decade in the industry, we were ready to run our own business.
Having worked for Hunters before and having seen the franchise support offering first hand – including the success of other new business owners - it made perfect sense to launch with a brand that we know and trust. We would regularly visit the Hunters branches and teach them how to get the best out of the system and we made such a good team together that we decided if there was an opportunity to run a business as part of Hunters, we should do it!
The process was really straightforward and the Hunters team were extremely knowledgeable as well as the franchise team at The Property Franchise Group’s head office, who guided us through our journey. Now we have taken over a successful three branch business, as the previous owners wanted to retire.
While we are confident and ambitious, any new business owner has those natural moments of doubt and self-reflection before taking the leap.
However, with the support of Hunters we have access to market-leading training and development opportunities, good tech rates and marketing support.
In this competitive market you need to be really good at the basics. I think some agents have lost sight of this, but now the market is tougher and transaction levels are down, you also need to have the best people working on your team and the latest technology at your fingertips to stand out against the competition. Whilst market conditions may be tougher, we are seeing real demand from motivated movers and there are plenty of properties coming to the market.
We are optimistic for the future and look forward to growing our business. Hunters is known locally as a big sales agent but we are keen to grow the lettings side of the business and introduce property management.
Our advice to anyone considering becoming a franchisee is – go for it! The strength and depth of the Hunters franchise network is all the proof you need.