Wayne Albutt moves from Keller Williams to EweMove

EweMove has welcomed new director of growth & development, Wayne Albutt, to the fold.

Albutt’s, who spent two decades in the property industry working across South Africa and UAE, has worked as regional development Director for Keller Williams UK since 2020.

Having just set their latest seven-year plan at their national franchise conference, including a goal to double the size of the franchise network in the next three years, EweMove has highlighted this role as a key influencer for success.

Albutt will support new franchisees joining the 170-plus agent network, while helping established franchisees in their quest to take a bigger share of their local markets.

He said: “Working in the estate agency business should be exciting and fun – my formula for a great property franchise business is that if the customer wins, then the franchisee wins and so does the franchisor.

“Providing direct support to franchisees is a niche I carved out for myself in South Africa and led to opportunities further afield which I’ve really enjoyed. So, when I was looking for a new challenge in the UK, I focused in on EweMove as I could see their brand and team were both fun and exciting but also progressive and agile. Having met with The Property Franchise Group and EweMove, they had the attitude and strategy I was looking for in my next step.”

Nick Neill, managing director at EweMove, commented: “It was clear how closely our values were aligned when I met Wayne. I’ve no doubt his drive and ability to support agents’ growth through even the most complex of markets will make him a great addition to the brand and the Sheep Pen Team.”

haart names new area partner for Bedford

haart has appointed a new area partner for Bedford, who not only has 21 years’ experience in the property industry but has also spent time as a semi-professional football player and manager.

John Chand has been with haart for almost three years and in that time has been promoted twice, first from senior property marketing consultant to Cambridge branch partner, and now to area partner.

He said: “I have great ambitions to grow our market share in the Bedford area by offering a fantastic service and increasing our presence. I want to bring in more partners and create great coverage around our neighbouring villages. I’m excited for the potential here as well as the new homes site that is coming up in Bromham.”

Chand has previously worked in a variety of estate agency roles, from being a sales negotiator to owning his own franchise.

He said: “I’ve always been someone that wants to lead by example and having worked in all aspects of the property industry I am confident that this will be what helps my team to success. Internal career progression is very important to me and my team, and Spicerhaart offer so much internal support and opportunities, for which I am very grateful.”

Upstix appoints estate agency veteran Phil Tennant as COO

Phil Tennant, former Countrywide and Hamptons International senior exec, has been appointed as COO at iBuyer Upstix.

Tennant, who will oversee all of Upstix’s sales and operations, was previously COO at Hamptons International for over half a decade and operations director at Countrywide for over eight years until mid-2021.

Tennant said: “The UK’s housing market needs innovation and, crucially, choice offered to not just prospective buyers but also sellers. Out of the nearly 800,000 homes sold a year, around a quarter of those will need a quick sale, and until Upstix there hasn’t really been any option guaranteeing a fast transaction.

“Using Upstix will not be for everyone, but there is a need to make the market more democratic and transparent to get things moving, especially when a seller needs to move quickly.”

Giles Mackay, founder of Upstix, added: “Phil’s wide range of experience across PropTech, traditional and online agencies makes him the perfect choice to lead Upstix’s sales and operations, and I look forward to seeing him help drive our mission to make selling a home a faster, more certain and transparent experience.”