Countrywide top brass step down

The managing director of estate agency and the group commercial director at Countrywide are both standing down.

Bob Scarff, managing director of estate agency has been involved in agency for 37 years. He started his career as a trainee negotiator at Taylors estate agents in 1978, when the company was under private ownership, and the became the managing director of the UK's largest estate agency network.

The official statement from Countrywide says he intends to pursue his own personal ambitions outside of the group and will step down on 29 May 2015.

Nick Dunning, group commercial director at Countrywide, has been at the group for seven years, mostly involved in the lettings business. This side of Countrywide enjoyed 28 acquisitions in 2014 and similar level of investment to be made in 2015.

The official statement merely says: Nick is leaving the company to pursue other things and will step down at the end of April 2015 - which means he has already left.

Both businesses will report directly to Countrywide's new chief executive, Alison Platt and chief financial officer Jim Clarke in the interim.

Earlier this week, Countrywide warned of a 'difficult housing market' as transactions dipped ahead of the general election.