Referral fees: agency reveals £5m income from convey...

One of the largest estate agencies in the Midlands, Newton Fallowell, says it’s made a remarkable £5m in referral fees from its 20-year link with Move with Us.

The family run business operates out of 36 branches across the Midlands region and has 40,000 clients a year.

A Newton Fallowell statement says it recognised that the partnership could fuel the ambitious growth plans it had for their business and offer a more streamlined and efficient moving process for their customers.

Newton Fallowell managing director Mark Newton says Move with Us has played a big part in the agency’s success over the years and they are very much looking forward to what the partnership will bring in the future.

“What a way to mark our 20th birthday! Since we started working with Move with Us, we have built an ever-increasing conveyancing business working with Move with Us’ panel of local solicitors,” Newton says.

“The current market place is a maelstrom of falling fees as competition from online agents bites and conveyancing now forms an essential part of our turnover. We have tried other solutions over the years, but no-one else offers the joined-up thinking we get from Move with Us. Not only does it create a very successful revenue stream to help in the very challenging market, it provides our customers with a marketing leading service.”

Move with Us partners with over 200 legal firms across the country to help estate agents make the most of conveyancing opportunities.

Last week a senior official in the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government revealed the government was looking at possible controls on referral fees.

In response to a Call for Evidence issued by the government on the reform of the house buying process last year, some 77 per cent of members of the public who responded wanted action on this.

The government is committed to transparency and measures under consideration range from banning to restricting such fees. “Expect an announcement shortly” the official told agents at a conference.