Coldwell Banker, one of the world’s longest established, most trusted and successful estate agents, has opened a new branch in Notting Hill, London with franchise partners Bobby Parikh and Sanjay Modhnadia.
Bobby and Sanjay are already experienced property professionals having built up a property portfolio worth in excess of £15m over the past 15 years.
“We had gone to a franchise show last year to research estate agency franchises. We had detailed discussions with a number of them but Coldwell Banker really stood out,” said Bobby.
He added: “We knew of Coldwell Banker’s reputation in the US where it is a household name synonymous with luxury and high end properties. We wanted to join a company which had a well-established franchise network with international connections. We anticipate that many of our buyers will be from overseas so having that global reach is vital. Coldwell Banker currently operates in 44 countries.”
Sanjay said: “Within one week of opening the office we had our first listing; a mews house in Notting Hill which has gone on the market for an asking price of £2.1m and we also have three properties to let. In Notting Hill we are ideally situated for selling and letting some of the most prestigious properties in London. The support from the UK franchisor has been great with every help given to get the office established from day one.”
Bobby and Sanjay are supported in the business by Darren Hicks who is highly experienced in sales, franchising and property. Darren previously worked with the Century 21 franchise network as Franchise Sales Director and also had his own franchised courier delivery business.
Established in the US in 1906, Coldwell Banker now has 3,000 offices in 44 countries worldwide specialising in the sale, rental and management of luxury and prestige properties. In America the firm is well known for selling properties for celebrities and famous public figures including two of the world’s most expensive properties.
Stuart White, the master franchise holder for Coldwell Banker in the UK said: “Our franchise offers a unique opportunity to become part of a global network of property agents with a 100-year track record of success. We specialise in the middle to upper end of the property market so the financial rewards for the right person can be very good indeed. Ideally we are looking for candidates who are already in the estate agency sector but looking for that chance to become their own boss with the support of one of the world’s most respected estate agents behind them. We will also consider applicants from other backgrounds but they must have exceptional business acumen and people skills.
“Our first three franchise offices are in the London area but we are looking for candidates throughout the UK. Our target is to have 100 UK-based franchisees in the next five years. They will all be in prime city locations where there is sufficient stock of prestige and luxury homes.”
The franchise fee is £25,000 and applicants must also have adequate working capital and funds to lease or rent office premises from which to operate. Full induction training in the Coldwell Banker methods of selling property will be provided by the franchise management team in the UK. The firm was one of the first estate agency networks to embrace new technology and franchisees will benefit from state-of-the-art IT systems such as the company intranet and extensive marketing resources library.
The UK management team have a combined 100 years’ experience in the estate agency sector including building one of the UK’s largest estate agency networks.
