Hunters’ first ever franchised branch in the North Yorkshire town of Selby is under new ownership after 16 years.

James Powell, who joined Hunters Selby six years ago as a junior negotiator before progressing through the ranks at the branch, has taken the reins from long-standing franchisee Rebekah Try.

Try will remain with Hunters Selby on a consultancy basis after originally purchasing the branch in 2008 and becoming Hunters’ first franchisee.

Prior to that, she had already been with Hunters for a decade, joining the company in York in 1998 as a sales negotiator.

Powell, meanwhile, had previously worked in retail for the Arcadia Group before joining Hunters Selby in 2017.

He said: “I’m hugely proud to be taking ownership of Hunters’ original franchised office.

“It’s almost six years to the day since I joined the Selby office as a junior negotiator who didn’t really have a clue!

“The journey since then has been incredible and when Rebekah approached me about taking on the business, I was really keen to look at making that step up.

“It’s fantastic that Rebekah will be staying on a consultancy basis as her knowledge from 16 years in the business is real power for me as I look to take the branch forwards.”

After previously offering a sales-only service in the market town, Powell has already started the ball rolling with the branch’s new lettings service.

He added: “We’re setting up the lettings right now and I’ll certainly be focusing on the growth of that side of the business, alongside maintaining the continued success of our sales service.

“Our reputation and reviews are fantastic over a long period of time and it’s also hugely important to me that remains the case, so I’ll also be putting a lot of time into maintaining that strong customer service, too.”

Hunters MD Rob Smith commented: “James has worked his socks off since joining Hunters six years ago and taking ownership of the business is a natural next step for him.

“Rebekah has been a real focal point of the business for the past 16 years and I know she’ll be on hand to help James with the transition into ownership, alongside maintaining the office’s incredible reputation.”

Hunters Property PLC was acquired by The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) in 2021, becoming the group’s ninth brand and expanding TPFG’s franchised network to more than 400 offices nationwide.