Products & Services

Residential Sales Software Case Studies

Haybrook

Established in Sheffield in 1990, Haybrook has grown to become one of South Yorkshire’s leading independent estate agents. Now operating from 12 offices, Haybrook currently employs 130 people and sells around 2,500 properties per year.

In 2003, Haybrook founder and Group Managing Director Keith Peet decided to trial his proven estate agency business as a franchise network, with the long-term aim of accelerating company growth and extending Haybrook’s coverage in the UK. Peet also felt that such a business model would be well suited to an unpredictable market place, as it presents less risk to start up estate agencies. Why so? Because Haybrook executes many core services on behalf of franchisees to generate revenue for them, drawing on its experience and infrastructure to optimise business efficiencies in every stage of the home moving process. Haybrook’s first franchisee, for example, has become a market leader and, more importantly, profitable within a short period of time.

Keith Peet attributes a large part of the Wigan-based franchisee’s success to Haybrook’s innovative and easily implemented IT system. He says: “All functions within our agency are centred on Vebra’s EstateCraft, from first logging an applicant, producing branded property details, chasing solicitors and surveyors, organising diaries, texting clients and agreeing a sale, right through to sending out the final sales invoice. In a nutshell, we simply could not function without it, and by automating processes we can demonstrate real cost savings to franchisees.”

Peet adds: “As EstateCraft runs over a live network, it also allows us to transfer files instantly between all offices, including franchisees, which is essential as all of our post sale work is carried out centrally at Waterside.”

Waterside is Haybrook’s new state-of-the-art Service Centre located in Sheffield. Representing an investment of £2 million, the Centre is designed to support partnering franchisees, as well as Haybrook branches, by housing sales progression, conveyancing services, builder centre, mortgage administration and IT. Waterside manages all post sales activities, allowing negotiators to focus on what they do best — sell properties.

Peet continues: “Technology is the way forward in estate agency, particularly so for the independent. We’ve used our expertise to provide what we regard as a ‘turn key’ solution. It means that a new franchisee can be up and running with a highly professional and compliant system from day one. It couldn’t be easier and we can also provide systems back up.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Haybrook’s Wigan-based franchisee has retained its own brand name. Peet explains: “The technology, systems and support are far more important than the brand. The brand is obviously valuable — after all we’ve spent years establishing it — but at Haybrook we see the brand as being an optional part of the offering. If, for example, a franchisee is operating an established business under a locally respected name, why change it?”

Vebra’s networked software enables individual Haybrook branches and partners to offer the company’s complete property portfolio to each applicant, thereby increasing sales opportunities. This also helps to keep vendors happy, as more applicants, located in a wider geographical area, are seeing their property.

Looking ahead to the future, Keith Peet is confident about the growth of Haybrook’s franchise network across the UK. He says: “We are very open minded as to where we expand into through franchising. The technology means it could be virtually anywhere. Our first franchisee is in Wigan and the distance between them and our South Yorkshire branches has created no problems at all. Their quick rise to success and profitability is a sure sign of things to come.”

Pygott & Crone

Industry experts have been forecasting doom and gloom in the housing market for some time now, but the more innovative agents are challenging this theory and using the softer market to their advantage. For these agents, the turn in the market doesn’t represent a time to make cut backs whilst trying to hang on to their existing share of the market. Instead they are using the quieter time to invest in the future and increase their market share, even moving into new markets.

Pygott and Crone is a classic example, resisting the threat of a slow-down with the opening of a new office in Grimsby. The Pygott & Crone partnership was set up in 1991, as a one office operation and have been a customer of Vebra since inception. The partnership was expanded in 2003 and has quickly grown to a 7 office agency covering residential & commercial sales.

Andy Skinner, I.T. Co-Ordinator at Pygott & Crone explains the reasons behind their decision to move into the North Lincolnshire area: “The potential untapped growth of Grimsby we identified was recognised as a great opportunity for us to develop in the north of the county. While we saw an ideal expansion opportunity to our highly successful operation, the potential for both Residential and Commercial growth can be demonstrated by property values in Grimsby compared to Lincoln, and we believe Grimsby will develop into a property hotspot over the next 5 years.”

The latest technologies have played a key part in Pygott & Crone’s expansion strategy, with many of Vebra’s additional products and services being adopted since opening. The new Grimsby office is a good example of this forward-thinking approach with the installation of Vebra’s new Night Display. With the Night Display, they can achieve a high-impact visual presence in the High Street, 24 hours a day — ensuring they really make their mark in their new market. “Having recently become a partner of Pygott & Crone I am very excited and enthusiastic about developing our state of the art office in Grimsby. I believe our sales techniques combined with our latest technology and the Vebra Solex software package, will allow us to provide a service second to none,” says Paul Wood, Partner & Manager, Grimsby. We wish Pygott & Crone the best of luck taking in the Grimsby market and look forward to hearing news of theirs and other Vebra customers’ future developments.

Testimonials   Case studies   More information