The dust is refusing to settle after the surprise sale of Countrywide’s Bairstow Eves franchised business to northern independent Hunters.
At least one Bairstow Eves franchisee has taken legal advice, and their solicitor has in turn instructed Counsel’s Opinion on the enforceability of the sale and whether the franchisee remains bound by the original agreement.
A precedent was set by a case, Stone and Ashwell v Fleet Mobile Tyres. This suggests that if the owner of a franchise sufficiently changes it from that which the franchisees originally bought into, then the franchisees can be released from their agreements without penalty, and with their restraints on trading locally under another name eased.
The owners in that particular case wanted to focus on their e-commerce business and rebranded the business to eTyres
One franchising industry insider pointed out that Hunters has made great play of its shop-less franchises, in the form of Personal Agents. The same source said that the franchise industry has attracted a number of aggressive ‘no-win, no fee’ law firms, who have been enjoying some success.
The name ‘Hunters’ is well known and highly respected in Yorkshire but is arguably much less well known outside the region than that of Bairstow Eves, and Hunters has said it will rebrand all 90 of the Bairstow Eves offices to its own name over the next six months.
Other industry sources said that a large number of Bairstow Eves franchisees were unhappy with the impending name change, and felt it was not what they had bought. One disenchanted franchisee apparently said they thought they had bought into Macdonalds, but instead found themselves with a local kebab shop. It is a suggestion that will upset Hunters, which intends to pump huge investment into what will become the former Bairstow Eves branches as it takes its own brand nationwide.
Bairstow Eves has always placed huge emphasis on its name when marketing itself to potential franchisees. For example, an advertorial in the NAEA magazine, The Estate Agent, in December 2009, was headed: ‘It’s all in the name.’ The advertorial stated: ‘No one in the business has stronger national recognition.’
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Comments
All I can say is BEWARE. these guys are ruthless beyond the bounds of business. From experience they are not short of bullies. They are happy to ride rough shod over anyone who gets in their way of world domination and believe me I do not exaggerate.
As a customer I was caught up in a dispute between them and a franchisee and boy was it ugly. Bullied, intimidated and harrassed beyond any bounds of any sort of signed agreement. Wow I cant believe these guys promote themselves as award winners they should be keeping a low profile and hanging their heads in shame.
I've seen what they are capable of and all I can say is BEWARE....if they treat customers like that what are they capable of.
You are right ANON. All BE franchisees have been stabbed in the back. If I were a Bairstow franchisee, I would be hopping mad. I suppose a good way to get them back is to take on a worldwide franchised operation!
I believe all Bairstow Eves should jump ship and go to another real estate agent.
The only reasons one would buy a franchise over going alone are:
The power of a brand (ie mcdonalds)
The ability to be in business in an industry you have no experience in (previous correspondent)
Cost reductions in running your business.
A succesful track record; they operate their own offices alongside franchisees
My understanding is that BE delivered on all of these. Will Hunters franchisees get corporate repo business, massive cost savings on group purchases, AND big portal discounts???
In my opinion Countrywide are trying to be cute by selling a profitable franchise network to a company like loss making Hunters. Like all deals there are benefits for both, For Countrywide it kills at least two+ birds with one stone i.e 1. Paves the way for a single National brand in circa 5-7 years prior to being refloated. 2. In London the group owned offices will have more room to grow/roam, no doubt prior to the 2 year lockout proposal. 3. Although a drop in the ocean for them Countrywide achieved a premium for a sale of this nature in the current climate.
For loss making Hunters, taking over the profitable BE franchise network will enable them to correct their historic loss making position quicker.
Hunters with 5 group owned offices and varying network number have managed to find the funding to complete the acquisition via a probable combination of shareholder and venture capitalist funding (maybe even mixed with a loan from Vizzi Homes enabled by joint directorships) I suspect It is probably Countrywide's view that Hunters business model is seriously flawed and that in the long term they are not serious competitors.
Now the real story will unfold, I wonder how many BE franchisees will actually devalue their businesses by accepting the rebranding?
Will Countrywide risk a group counter claim for damages and a prolonged legal dispute by trying to enforce it's trademark licence if the franchisees stand together?
It is nice to see the comments from Hunters members, and i have respect for a company pushing forward. Perhaps Hunters franchisees and personal agents should ask themselves would you want an unknow brand forced on your business in your area? Particularly if you are already trading in a number 1 position? While most would agree the people are the business, it still takes time to re-educate the customer.
Personally i suspect there is a lot of water to go under this bridge yet.
P.S I actually do like Hunters subtle rip off of the Hamptons brand H.
To answer MAD's question - I had loads of confidence and self-belief and a willingness to work very hard, but I had no experience of actually working within the property industry, nor did I have any experience of starting and running a business of any description. That's why I bought a franchise.
If I'd have started up on my own I'd have fallen flat on my face, like so many others do - a new letting agent pops up in my area regularly, occasionally one of them makes a go of it, the rest sink without trace or sell up to a more successful established agent. Granted a few franchisees fail as well, but statistically the odds are stacked in your favour.
Buying a franchise isn't right for everyone - but for me it made very good business sense.
My pleasure "Confused"
http://www.ukpropertyshop.co.uk/estate-agents/hunters-6511.shtml
I don't understand Hunters, one minute the directors are all putting their houses up for sale to stay in business, the next they are becoming a 'national' agent, can anyone shed any light on the fortunes of Hunters?
and the winners will be- the lawyers.
Paul, You are correct, the new HQ cost £10m and was never used.
What they say is so true, companies that build new HQs, install flag poles etc. are going nowhere fast.
Now where's that helicopter pad?
Have any of the BE franchise owners actually spoken to Hunters yet? Because if they had then some of the questions in the posts wouldn't have been asked
1) Hunters might not be a national company- but noone starts at this point. Hunters have many plans to introduce themselves and your businesses to the market and make Hunters a recognised brand
2) Just because the name isn't well known doesn't mean it can't be successful. Nobody had heard their name when the office I worked in opened. Yet we successfully became the number one agent in the area within a few short months- and stayed there
3) The name of your company is irrelevant, if you're a good buisnessman then your clients will reccommend you to others and you'll be successful regardless- surely you have many clients already that will continue to support you, because you'll provide just as good a service as you have previously been giving them
4) Hunters will be rebranding your offices at their own costs
5) Hunters are a professional and supportitive company- it's understandable that their franchisee owners would want to tell you of their experiences working for them
6) I do not own a Hunters franchise, although to be honest after working for them for the last few years I am very interested in becoming a personal agent
why an earth if you have confidence in yourself would you become a franchisee?? and gice away % of your profits????
Just found this, the concept cracked me up.
http://www.franchiseremedies.com/franchise-compliance.htm
The general rule of contract construction is that the express terms are there for the purpose of being insisted upon. That's too elementary to be of much assistance in understanding how the contract language and the franchising agenda work together. It's one thing to be able to read and quite another to understand the 'system'. But that's what you agreed to, so that's the standard to which you will be held, unless of course you were induced to sign the contract by misrepresentation and can prove that. Stupidity/ignorance is not a defense, but it is still unlawful to cheat the stupid
BE Franchisees defence is "THEY ARE STUPID"
This is giving me laughing pains, please stop...
Several points to raise (I run a Yorkshire Estate Agent and watch Hunters with interest).
1.Potential franchisee's have been signing up to be a 'personal Agent', handing over large sums of money to be a franchisee and being given an area to sell in and falling flat on their faces with amazing regularity (losing their investment) !!
2.Some small towns have a Hunters franchise and a Bairstow Eves franchise - what will happen here?
3. As recently as 2008 Hunters had built a purpose built office block in York that never served its purpose in the end due to financial difficulties (I understand).
4.Hunters franchisees were asked earlier in the week to post 'positive' comments on this site to keep the balance!!
Watch this space!!
There is a comfort to be gleaned from others misery. Some of the other comments reflect my situation so closely it is uncanny..
I stupidly, bought into a Relocation franchise on the basis of what the franchisor told us was achievable and after speaking to their carefully selected "Brand Ambassadors". As it turns out this unscrupulous pair lied and misrepresented just about everything you could think of.
When we attempted to discuss issues we were described as "terrorists" by one of the Franchisors and their Franchise Director told us that Franchising is a "dictatorship" and we had no rights. The BFA were no help to us. A "toothless tiger" who offered to mediate but would /could do no more. There should be an organisation where we can turn for genuine help without having to spend several thousand pounds on lawyers(as my colleagues and I have done) to rid ourselves of this thieving pair. Would love to hear from others who have faced a similar situation and you two in Bristol )the Franchisors), if you recognise yourselves in this bvlog, come on, explain yourselves!!
I was in a franchise along with one of the others in this comments section. Interestingly there are probably more than twice as many ex franchisees of this particular relocation franchise than there are exisiting. Only three have renewed in seven years! The franchisor has no idea about the daily business they profit so much from. Misrepresentation seems to be the bedrock of this franchise. The BFA are toothless and a complete waste of time and it is about time someone took some proper control over the unscruplous franchises out there. The one I was with will get the publicity they deserve in the coming months and hopefully before ay other poor suckers lose their money buying into the myth.
It's no good the Hunters name being well known in Yorkshire if you are a BE franchisee in Surrey.
With all due respect to them, Hunters is not a nationwide name whereas BE used to have some 300 branches and the franchisees bought into the Countrywide network.
I wouldn't be happy to pay for a rebrand either especially as BE had one only about 5 years ago.
Im afraid my experience of franchising has led to similar actions being taken.
As an ex franchisee Im actually shocked at the level of unprofessionalism the Property industry will allow 'Franchisor's to get away with". It seems to me that a signature on an agreement many years ago can tie you into any made up brand that the franchisor is selling, and with all the acreditations of organisations like the BFA who have absoloutely NO remit to stop them, but can only mediate!
It's pathetic and time the industry listened to the franchisee's who have been wronged, franchising is not a Dictatorship, you are a business owner with a stake hold in the brand, if for some reason this isn't what you think you signed up too you are more than justified to get out of it.
It takes huge courage, honesty and integrity to take these people on, and it's about time some of the efforts to regulate this business were focussed on delivering this for franchisee's.
The old 'codger' in Hunters Westerham had no idea he had just purchased BE. Very surprised indeed.
In fact, he had no idea there were more Hunters branches Up ' t ' North either.
Very strange !!
...it's okay Hunters seem quite happy to be "tweeting" all about it on twitter.
Did Hunters actually conduct any due dilligence on this the transaction seems to have happened very quickly?
My guess is that its been backed with venture capital and someone is now on an earn out.
They buy any old s*** up north don't they? :P
In the early 90's I had a Balmforth franchise in Norfolk with 20 others and the Alliance and Leicester bought it for a fortune. They tried to put their name over the door, we fought it and they found they couldn't. They never spoke to one franchisee and obviousy didn't read the agreemement. After a year or so they just dumped it and wrote off a fortune. It was probably the same bloke who set up BE franchise. It is amazing they do not always know what they are buying. Take my advice, take the opportunity and go alone. After 18 years it is still the best decision I ever made. Happy to advise anyone if I can help.
Where is the British Franchise Associationin all this. They seem quite happy for their members to change willy nilly without any comment or control
Yorkshire Post : Published Date: 09 October 2008
POLITICAL CASUALTY - Would-be MP stands down to save firm
A Conservative candidate was yesterday forced to pull out of a key marginal seat in Yorkshire to concentrate on saving his business. Kevin Hollinrake, candidate in Dewsbury, said he needed to spend more time on the York-based Hunters Property Group, where he is joint chief executive, during "difficult economic times".
Mr Hollinrake did not return calls yesterday but speaking to the Yorkshire Post last December, he warned that this year would be difficult for his industry.
"I definitely think there will be more estate agencies closing in the next six months," he said.
ENDS
I'm a Martin & Co franchisee, have been for years.
I bought into the Martin & Co brand and, regardless of whether a different franchise group were perceived to be good, bad, or indifferent I'd be pretty miffed if I was told I was suddenly part of an entirely different brand.
The McDonalds vs kebabs shop analogy made me smile, but if I'd bought into a McDonalds franchise I'd be annoyed even if I suddenly found myself re-branded as Burger King or Subway.
The case that franchisees may be able to leave and set up on their own is a red herring unless they're allowed to take all the clients with them which (to paraphrase Wayne from Wayne's World is as likely as monkeys flying out of my butt). Having built up a well established and thriving business under the Martin & Co brand there's no way I'd want to quit and start from scratch on my own - and some people may be surprised to hear that a lot (not all admittedly, but a lot) of franchisees share my view.
where have hunters got all this money from?? my understanding is that they almost went under in 2008. have they turned their business round that quickly?
Allagents.co.uk:
Hunters ranked: 605 out of 7148
Bairstow Eves ranked: 7146 out of 7148
Lol, looks like its the better choice of a bad bunch.
Will the ex Bairstow Eves franchisee's have their office re-furbs paid for by Hunters as well as thier franchise fee's re-imbursed like Halifax Property Services franchisee's were when Reeds Rains re-branded them with the LSL acquisition?
Will the Bairstow Eves franchisee's still be able to "plug" into the corporate listings available to the rest of the Countrywide network i.e reposessions?
Surely the benefit of joining the Countrywide network as franchisee was a major consideration when putting your whole lifes investment on the line?
............just asking
wot about Hunters in Westerham?
A chance to opt out of the Hunters re-brand and go it alone must be attractive to most. If it where me, I would have my own name above the door by the end of the week.
Up the indys!
I can understand why BE franchise owners are upset and angry, this was a decision for which they haven't even been consulted. However I urge them to give Hunters a chance. While I am not an owner, I do work for a Hunters franchise and have seen the office I work in go from strength to strength while other agents in the area have crumbled in current market. The support you get from Hunters is absolutely amazing, and I can say that I am proud to work for them. The office I work in is away from York and no-one had heard of their name here, however that's all different now. We are well respected in our area, and get the business due to that. See what they are offering you before you decide on anything- you might find, in time, that rebranding to Hunters is the best thing that's ever happened for your business
...more like Lidl to Netto.
I would suggest that the re-brand can only be a good thing for any franchisee, you bought into a low rent brand that is being replaced with quality for free! You guys have got a bargain
I my eyes you have just been elevated from Lidl to Waitrose for nothing. How much do you think Countrywide would have invested in your brand? You are in safe hands with Hunters and will all have better businesses as a result.
I was a halifax franchisee and market leader in our area, we were forced to have the your move brand, in an area where it was little known. We will now need a huge bit of luck to survive the year. My advice - run a mile from any franchise operation
Countrywide decided to stop franchising and tendered the business to several other franchising groups. Continuing as a 'McDonalds' isn't going to be an option come what may. Now, you want that pitta toasted or plain?
"The name ‘Hunters’ is well known and highly respected in Yorkshire."
Eh? Do I detect irony? If not, when / where / how did EAT do the survey, or did you cut & paste from a press release?