A highly experienced agent has joined specialist recruitment firm Rayner Personnel, taking on a new franchise for the south-west.

Chris March joins from Chestertons and has 30 years’ experience in the property industry, which included setting up and running his own business, March & Co, for almost 15 years before selling it to Countrywide.

He became a main board director of Countrywide Residential Lettings where he spent a decade helping to grow its leasehold business into one of the UK’s leading managing agents.

His CV also includes stints at Braemar Estates, where he was CEO, and at Allsop Residential Investment Management.

March said: “I am looking forward to using the experience I’ve gained over the years to help companies recruit the right people.

“Businesses are only as good as the people who work in them.”

Rayner Personnel has also announced that two existing franchise owners have each taken on second territories.

Guy Hodge, former managing director of Lords Estate Agents in Kingston-upon-Thames, took the south east franchise area in 2016, and has now extended it to cover  the Portsmouth, Plymouth and Bournemouth postcodes. Craig Cassidy, south east London franchisee, has now taken on north London as well.