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Clearing the shelves in Brum
DIXONS IN A****S GREEN
Look at this 18 out of 26 away
11 put on in August and already 7 of those away
Only 2 on from last year
Https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/branch/dixons-estate-agents-a****s-green-birmingham-28272/
A positive post from Sain...good times must be coming!
For the first time in many years shareholders can feel more optimistic
Long & Creffield are going who have been responsible for steering the car over the cliff overseen some dreadful decisions which have contributed to the huge legacy debt pile
"Until some fresh blood is brought in then this business is going nowhere fast."
Step forward Robin Paterson
Not only a seasoned veteran with a demonstrable track record of adding value to estate agency businesses he has also put his money where his mouth is
He also has inside knowledge having built up successfully one of the jewels in the crown Hamptons
Shareholders can think themselves extremely fortunate if he slips into the chair or CEO position .
The market has been bubbling since lockdown and has already picked up a lot of the slack Whether or not it can continue of course is debatable but every reason to be more optimistic. Make hay whilst the sun shines
Certainly more money in the coffers as completions flying through the door and many of the brands enjoying bumper forward sales
Dixons have currently over 1100 sales instructions with over 635 either sold STC or under offer. That is over 55% which is a huge increase
Agreed MT too hard to call.
Until some fresh blood is brought in then this business is going nowhere fast. Sadly no one capable internally because anyone worth their salt either left or were pushed out sometime ago post Mrs Platt and those that then remained at the top table clearly had nothing to offer. Doubtful if the business as it now stands can remain in it's current form which is truly sad to see. Just look at Connells for example and what can be achieved with experienced directors and long serving management teams. Then rewind 6 years and the crumbling of CWD since that time is truly astonishing.
The market currently is spectacular but it wont last long. I image the financials of CWD for Q4/Q1 will be better than expected but then what.If someone wants a pop at this they should do so now or it will be a long game into Q2/3 next year at earliest
It's flying
Why not moving?
Dixons absolutely nailing the sales to the door in the W Midlands
Their Halesowen office .Total current inventory of 58 .of which 32 of those SSTC
14 of those listed in August already showing as sold STC .Staggering increase
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/branch/dixons-estate-agents-halesowen-sales-halesowen-28281/
Well now is an opportune time for some changes with the old guard vacating the vacant hot seats . Should a takeover be mounted the debt is not a problem per se for deep pocketed buyers as they can replace the debt with equity
This guy has serious track record of success with estate agencies You can see why the guy who had a pop at Humberts wants to partner with
The tide has turned July and August will have put a smile on the bankers faces as sales have surged
I should think Oaktree would be absolutely over the moon after the disasters of the incumbent management that someone with a demonstrable and proven success in the field not only that built one of their best brands Hamptons up wants to join the party
Gez what more do you want?
Not a takeover target yet as still too much debt to carry and too many clowns still dressed up in their lion costumes. Will be interesting to see the response from the likes of Oaktree but doubt they will show their hand publicly. Hard to call yet but no doubt someone in the game at last who has come up with a sensible plan rather than the back to basics crap that was previously being spun. Now remind me again how that played out?
is this a takeover target now after today's news?
Having grown Hamptons into a £45m business and choosing excellent timing for an exit he kicked off Sothebys International which has an impressive inventory of quality kit
The price obtained for Hamptons equivalent with today's current market valuation of CWD
A consummate dealmaker
Https://www.sothebysrealty.co.uk/enb/sales/int
Excuse fat finger
Well read his CV .Decades of successful exiting and entrying out of corporate estate agencies ,adding value . Been involved with all the top brands
Seasoned and time proven he really couldn' t be more impressive Shareholders will be well happy if he can reproduce the same form again with Hamptons
This is no Dane without bacon
Anyone who can comes out of the right side of a deal with Peter De Savary ticks plenty of boxes He even managedtoget £45m for Hamprons
Shareholderswillvevery happy ifhecan rpeathat gain
Heeve
He even manged to trouser £45m for Hamptons which CWD bought off Wharf for a lot less in 2010
Https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/countrywide-expands-with-acquisition-of-hamptons-2003530.html
Bring this boy on
2004 Paterson sold a much-expanded Hamptons International to Wharf Holdings (Hong Kong) at a reported £45 million.
Impressive .This guy is the business The Countrywide suitor Robin Paterson (Catalist Partners)certainly has some skin in the game .,man and boy . One serious player.
Been involved in the wheeling and dealing of many corporate agencies throughout the decades . All the way from selling Whitman Porter to Royal life in 1986
https://robin-paterson.com/career.php
Whatprice
Flying a kite and a door opener for a new suitor as the tide has now turned
Yes that letter pretty morale choking for all those hard working staff . Take one for the team where the Directors have burned borrowed monies gratefully received by partners for acquired business's disappearing goodwill
Especially so as many branches have emerged from lockdown kicking and fighting ,nailing the sales
Seems very clear now why Catalist Partners took another chunk of shares as they believe that they can extract value by forcing the selling off of most the profitable parts of the business i.e surveying, financial services and LSH. Interesting they ignored conveyancing but assume they have other plans for that. So basically close more Branches and chuck more staff out the window, move to a hub operation similar to the Haart proposal and recruit a whole new layer of senior management to replace the existing clowns. Oh and the IT is useless too. What an absolute disaster and how inspiring for anybody still working there as they struggle to earn a living. Good luck with the new CEO appointment after this statement of intent.
I think they pretty much have the right idea
However we are talking about a team who moved on on Humberts with a lot of hot air which failed
Right ideas step forward another white knight
CWD London brands still very challenging especially Central
However Hamptons Islington office is zinging setting the Thames alight With 13 fresh listings in July already under offer
Https://www.zoopla.co.uk/find-agents/branch/hamptons-international-islington-sales-london-3592/
Midlands
Dixons Willenhall 54 out of 81 away SSTC . 11 away of those freshly instructed since July
Dixon Selly Oak 31 out of 55 away SSTC 11 away of those fresh since July
Dixons Sheldon 18 out of 28 away 2 away already instructedi n August
They are rocking
For someone who has spouted much negativity here been buying back into CWD and they are now my largest shareholding
Https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/branch/bairstow-eves-nottingham-sales-nottingham-28073/
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/branch/dixons-estate-agents-northfield-birmingham-28274/
Even Outer London
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/branch/alan-de-maid-chislehurst-chislehurst-27958/
Sales in the regions have spurted with some offices over 60% sold Certainly an opportunity for some fresh blood to hit the ground running
Still some offices yet to reopen,Suspect that the inevitable closures and redundancies will be announced shortly .Some quality appointments arriving at the top will start this whole merry dance off again
Agreed needs to be someone who can lead from the front and gain immediate respect from the troops and their investors. Appointing Alison Platt was actually not seen initially as a mistake what she did subsequently was where it all went wrong and by recruiting a clueless midget from carphone warehouse to front up the Agency business which ironically was the one area that needed a hardnose so and so to replace Bob Scarff ( who was shown the door pretty quickly) who had previous experience in the game not someone who picked it up as they went along. If it's done right this time then there is still hope it will certainly stick in a lot of the current team if Mr Long continues to draw a paycheque by remaining on the board his recent track record if you include the debacle at The Post Office is hardly a new broom. Only my opinion of course.