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Today's Headlines:
House prices fall or rise (take your pick)
4 comments
House prices went up slightly – by 0.4% – in July, the Land Registry has reported. It
Knight Frank stay quiet after conman is jailed
9 comments
A tenant who faked his identity when renting through Knight Frank has been jailed for three
Rich overseas buyers keep prime London market aloft
0 comments
Chinese buyers are expected to replace Russian investors as major players in the prime central London
Moving occasion: today's the day!
0 comments
The most popular moving date is today, September 1, the Post Office has revealed. The two next
Prospective first-time buyers sink to new low
0 comments
The proportion of buyers expecting to buy for the first time in the next 12 months
Housing market 'edging towards double dip' claim
2 comments
Net lending plummeted in July to the second lowest monthly figure since records began in 1993,
Henry Pryor Blog
0 comments
Welcome to a new monthly blog by Henry Pryor, estate agent turned entrepreneur, inventor and expert
Rightmove profits climb 39% as more agents sign up
14 comments
A rise in the number of agents and an overall willingness to pay more to Rightmove
Portal creates new 'check out your competition' stats
1 comments
Property portal Home has created some new statistic pages on its site which we reckon will
Six in ten mortgages are now for house purchase
2 comments
The proportion of mortgages being taken out for purchases, as opposed to remortgages, is at its
News Story
Debt-laden Countrywide comes closer to cash restructure deal
Wednesday 25th February 2009Plans to inject more money into Countrywide and write off much of its debts have moved a step forward.
An independent committee of the board has reviewed the proposed scheme to restructure the company’s balance sheet and released a statement saying that it believes it would create a stable and sustainable capital structure.
Countrywide announced on February 17 that it was looking to obtain £75m of fresh equity capital with a reduction of debts.
Countrywide said it now expects the scheme to be filed with the relevant court in March and be completed during the second quarter.
The complicated arrangement involves Castle Holdco 4, a holding company that came into being when US equity firm Apollo first acquired Countrywide, and a vehicle called Oaktree.
The suggestion is that Countrywide needs money to snap up estate agencies, chartered surveyor and financial services firms and conveyancers, which are feeling the pinch in the downturn, in order to maintain and grow market share.
Apollo originally backed Countrywide to the tune of £740m.
Send to a Friend Today's other headlinesView Comments 18 comments
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Posted By michelle walker on Thursday 26th February 2009 15:19:10
 Get Profile | If you have lost a chain then have you heard of the chain solution? national company designed to get the UK's market moving. They buy at 95-97% of true market value. www.thechainsolution.co.uk or call them on 0844 875 1450. They saved our chain and buy within 28 days. |
Posted By wooden top on Thursday 26th February 2009 13:55:16
Get Profile | What else would the board do? There going under as it is, but the bet is now on - with the injection of capital their betting on the independant's falling by the side and they will pick up the pieces and a monopoly after all. Your horse doen't always come in!!! |
Posted By Mr Charity Worker on Wednesday 25th February 2009 19:20:19
Get Profile | The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The man/woman with a big canoe has big problems. The bigger they all, the more aggressive they need to be to please their area managers and to maintain their jobs. Long live the small independants and all who sail in her! |
Posted By Despondent on Wednesday 25th February 2009 17:02:23
Get Profile | Cpl!!! Yes, I have had experiences over the last 14 Years. When I worked in new home sales (very large developer)they messed up so many sales our MD would not entertain a chain where CPL featured anywhere in the chain! It worked and we had no further problems. We advise our clients to do the same and have had lengthy heated discussions with one local Countrywide Manager who in the end admitted to me "Yes, we know they are rubbish but we have to recommend them." To which I replied " We have a duty of care to our clients and we have not and will not entertain them when we know the most likely unfortunate outcomes." |
Posted By Swarnie on Wednesday 25th February 2009 16:29:24
See Profile or Message Andy Rutter | I bet there be asking for a Goverment bail out next!!
I hope they go under like the Titanic!! |
Posted By Ric on Wednesday 25th February 2009 14:46:01
Get Profile | Surely they just have to run another 3 day sale! I recall them selling 10,000 houses in 3 days or something similar! not that I am now on a CW rant, but the fact they sign winner takes all on a ''Sole Agency'' headed contract is another worrying matter! which must be worthy of a ''slagging off''! |
Posted By Ric on Wednesday 25th February 2009 14:38:54
Get Profile | Joss - No-one complains about loosing business to a good agent especially when youve not done a good job yourself! but the ''Slagging'' off you refer to is well founded when you look at the reasons behind it on this post! Door knocking, aggressive hard core touting, over valuing and then locking a client into a 7 month contract at a fixed fee based on asking price! I to run an Indep EA office as manager and have two CW members on the same road, we beat them hands down, but it does not take away the frustration that a company with their tactics and often just the tactics of some staff are bailed out of the $ "!t and dont have to work their way out of it! |
Posted By Ex Countrywide on Wednesday 25th February 2009 14:18:28
Get Profile | Which bi of countrywide are they bailing out. My experiance at the moment is this...even if Countrywide sell a house (at around a 2% fee) CPL then get their hooks into it and mess the bloomin thing up anyway. I have lost a £7k chain today because CPL in Cardiff couldn't get a contract out to one of our local Solicitors in Walsall. 5 attemps later the FTB at the bottom of the chain went elsewhere!!! |
Posted By Joss on Wednesday 25th February 2009 13:10:29
Get Profile | Can this stupidity of slagging off the corporates and the independants please stop, surely you have more to do with your time. We all want to do well for ourselves and families, I run an independant but if a corporate took a property from us then I would be more angry with myself than the other agent for not looking after the client properly. The good agent will survive no matter what. Lets just get on with our jobs and hope that we all keep them for as long as we can. |
Posted By phil on Wednesday 25th February 2009 12:48:15
Get Profile | It's also about time they, and other unprofessional are made aware of the new legislation which has come into force re: door knocking tactics and the consumers' 14 day Cooling Off period! |
Posted By Despondent on Wednesday 25th February 2009 11:48:56
Get Profile | Oh,really? Not to the experiences of vendors in our area. |
Posted By a view from on Wednesday 25th February 2009 11:31:37
Get Profile | as usual all the sour grapes comments are out . Independants small multi agents all do the same things. Its just that Countrywide do it better...... |
Posted By Taga on Wednesday 25th February 2009 10:40:42
Get Profile | I think countrywide are shafted. They can massage the package as they like. I know for a fact 8 out 11 bairstowes offices in a 5 mile radius have shut shop. The model does not work in challenging market. Every ones KING in a active market. The will not survive untill good lending comes back and that is not happening anytime soon at least several years. May god be with you!! |
Posted By Despondent on Wednesday 25th February 2009 10:39:15
Get Profile | How many people agree with the shoddy, under-handed, crook like tactics being given even more funding to step on even more toes?? This stinks and it's about time the OFT did something about exposing the deceit and lies once and for all. The general public should be spared from the experiences we have seen. It's also about time they are made aware of the new legislation which has come into force re: door knocking tactics and the consumers' 14 day Cooling Off period! |
Posted By Henry Rowe on Wednesday 25th February 2009 10:29:37
Get Profile | Apollo also own Realogy in the states,who are also having their problems! |
Posted By Total Rubbish on Wednesday 25th February 2009 10:08:43
Get Profile | They need the money to survive !!! Not buy others !!! |
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House prices fall or rise (take your pick)Wednesday 1st September 2010
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