Royal Mail chairman Peter Long is stepping down from that role to concentrate on Countrywide, where he is executive chairman.
He said he leaves Royal Mail with a ‘heavy heart’, but is citing the workload at embattled Countrywide.
Long has been Royal Mail’s chairman for the past three years, and took an executive role at Countrywide in January after former chief executive Alison Platt left.
At Royal Mail Long oversaw a shareholder revolt over the pay of its new chief executive. Long himself earned £300,000 at Royal Mail. His pay at Countrywide is £360,000.
Long has been criticised for ‘overboarding’ – the term used to describe directors with what shareholders perceive as too many roles on different boards, and not enough time to do one job properly. The Daily Mail had been particularly critical, labelling him a “serial part-timer”.
Its City editor Ruth Sunderland said of over-boarding that “no one, however brilliant, has the time to perform to full capacity in two very demanding positions, particularly when trouble hits”.
Countrywide shares were just below 11p this morning.
Comments (14)
letsallcalmdown73?
……hopefully you have.
Long is in the Last Chance Saloon…. sadly, the future of so many lie in his hands and those of the other documented bubbleheads.
Let’s hope for the sake of the good employees who have no say in this Post Platt Farce… that the bubbleheads can take Countrywide forward positively…. all the evidence seems to scream abandon ship because the Captain & Senior Crew are Clueless!
To Mr Long & Co…. consult the footsoldiers who open the branch doors every morning, they have eyes/ears within the actual property market that your business operates in ….rather than p*ss*ng on them from your boardroom table
…most often Senior Management Blah Blah Blaaaah amongst themselves and simply issue Committee Stamped Orders ensuring they cover each other’s backs!
……and since I’ve bought your shares, try and not p*ss my money away as well!
I’m lucky enough to be a few years detached from what is going on and can have a helicopter view of our industry.
Retail sales have apparently lost about 15% of their trade to the online sector whereas agency has in the same time frame of the internet’s influence over both sectors has only lost about 3% on top of about 2% FSBO that has has always and will always account for a number of sales.
Since 2012 when the ‘secret formula’ algorithms were introduced and made public there is a perception that properties can be accurately valued by a formula that takes comparables and adds a given % depending on transaction levels (secret formula??? chuckle)
People who own properties do not want a guess at what a property is worth they want to know what a property is worth and they want a professional to tell them and be legally responsible for the advice they are given. The change in the market that shows how hopeless the secret algorithms are has blown a gaping hole in the theory agency can be disrupted. What that will do is get investors to question the exposure to a bubble that is bursting in front of them. The fear of missing out is being replaced by the fear of being gullible.
Countrywide were taken down a path that most of the city believed, it was caught up in disruption group- think so it is not right to single out individuals for blame. The loonacy of disruption has been halted at Countrywide and I suspect that will cause other to modify their experiments with hybrid agency.
I say be grateful to the bravery of the Countrywide board who hopefully have put wooden stake through the heart of the idea that a service industry can be disrupted by cheapness and the internet.
What is really interesting is how the forward thinkers in retail are now looking at how agency is weathering the internet storm as a way of recapturing some of the 15%
‘People who own properties do not want a guess at what a property is worth they want to know what a property is worth and they want a professional to tell them and be legally responsible for the advice they are given. The change in the market that shows how hopeless the secret algorithms are has blown a gaping hole in the theory agency can be disrupted. What that will do is get investors to question the exposure to a bubble that is bursting in front of them. The fear of missing out is being replaced by the fear of being gullible.’
This is not how they sold their online service, their online service was still sold with their agents going out and advising the customer on the fees. No secret algorithms were used.
‘Countrywide were taken down a path that most of the city believed, it was caught up in disruption group- think so it is not right to single out individuals for blame’
I agree, so perhaps they should stop singling out one alison platt and perhaps they should hold themselves all accountable. They all contributed to the demise of CW and yes AP was apart of that but so were the board who are there today and most certainly so was Creffield.
‘I say be grateful to the bravery of the Countrywide board who hopefully have put wooden stake through the heart of the idea that a service industry can be disrupted by cheapness and the internet.’
I think your missing the point. The board signed off on the idea that service can be disrupted by Cheapness and the internet. Alison Platt was not on a one man mission to change the world. Countrywide has a board for that very reason, they agreed it, they believed in it and when it didn’t work because of self sabotage they blamed it on one individual.
Waiting for his final pay day at countrywide. The board is a shambles. They all over saw Platt and agreed to her plans, the management politics sabotaged any plans she made and destroyed countrywide for those at the bottom whilst the likes of Creffield were too embattled in the politics trying to establish himself as GOD! They all need to be given washed out with the Platt regime. You have to question Mr Peter Long when he over saw Platt and openly says she got it wrong… no sir you all got it wrong and you are all getting it wrong again now! Even the high street independents have woken up and realised the power of digital, you don’t have to be an online agent to embrace Digital but you fools come out and say ‘we don’t believe in digital.’ Who are you? where have you been for the past 20 years? You are killing off a company that has developed and trained some of the best agents in the industry over the years! shame on you. Take your last pay checks, continue to blame Alison Platt and ruin thousands of peoples lives and careers!
i would have a ‘ heavy heart ‘ after walking away from a nice 300k a year as well. I am sure everyone at Countrywide is delighted.
Super news, now my shares may finally head up not down (at least for 24 hours!).
It is a strong message and one that shouts very loudly a faith in and commitment to the firm.
Just ‘Doubled Down’ so hope you are right 😉
SP – Would you drop Royal Mail if you could make a lot more money from a potential sale of CW?
Come on Rightmove key third-party shareholders/partners, you know you want too?
Credit to the man opting to focus on the Titanic
Just think how history might have changed if someone had focused on the Titanic…
How about if someone had put out the smoldering coal fire on board before they sailed. That probably would have saved the ship from sinking in the first place!
Is that a simile for countrywide?
A heavy heart but an even heavier wallet.
I wonder if he will enjoy his new ‘post’ing…
sorry, exit stage left