John D Wood & Co. says that it is targeting further growth and expansion this year, following a successful 2020.
The company says it defied the challenges presented by the pandemic and delivered ‘outstanding results’, with trading hitting a five-year high.
Property Industry Eye asked for trading data, but John D Wood & Co. said it would not be possible to share any further details at this stage as the Countrywide PLC Preliminary Results have not yet been released.
Nevertheless, they insist that sales last year outperformed 2019 figures despite offices being closed for weeks throughout the first national lockdown in March.
The firm says that growth is set to continue into 2021 with the recent launch of bespoke project management services to support clients with high-end refurbishments alongside two new senior appointments within the business.
The business has recently expanded its network into the Home Counties by establishing their Country House department, while the recent opening of a new office in Chelsea should help win more businesses in prime London.
John D Wood & Co. will also be supported by the recent launch of their Land & New Homes and Corporate & Relocation services divisions.
Polly Ogden Duffy, who was appointed managing director for John D Wood & Co. last year, commented: “It was a challenging year in estate agency; for our people, and our clients. I am immensely proud of our teams, for the support they showed to each other, as well as the first-class service they continued to deliver to our clients despite the on-going challenges they faced.
“2020 brought us together and has made us stronger moving forward and I am looking forward to another successful year in 2021.”
Comments (9)
Interesting spin on those ‘new’ departments. The reality however is that the country house department seems to be little more than a nice sounding title for a department run out of the existing Weybridge office with existing staff, and the ‘new’ Chelsea office is surely just an office move from their now closed office in Lower Sloane Street.
Although the merger will serve Connells very well as they have no high end agency in London, it’s hard to see how they will keep both JD Wood and Hamptons brands, as they both occupy much the same space. Surely the way forward would be to amalgamate these two brands and keep the best placed offices out of the two of them? If you take Kensington and Chelsea as an example, a quick search shows that Hamptons and JD Wood between them have around 11 offices for one borough, so the rent and rates must be astronomical. As they have just spent hundreds of thousands giving the Hamptons brand a makeover (presumably with Connells full knowledge and backing) it’s not hard to imagine which brand they want to promote.
Keep the best people from both the brands, close some of the expensive offices and combine the brands to make one proper entity to go up against Savills, Strutts and Knight Frank.
I am not sure that the type of client that deals with J D Wood will want to be dealt with by a call centre based in Leighton Buzzard. Peter Allan was a mid to low market brand a perfect fit-J D Wood a whole different level.
I think you are missing my point – they will support the JDW management team to achieve THEIR plans.
The management team at John D Wood have every good reason to look forward to its future ownership under Connells – take Peter Alan as a good example… after its acquisition, Connells supported the existing management team in their plans to expand the business, whilst sharing best practice and key resources, like the GEM team that generate leads. Having worked for both Countrywide and then Connells, i believe this is going to be a great fit, and an exciting future awaits my ex Countrywide Colleagues.
I suspect that Connells are already pulling the strings behind the scenes so I don’t believe these are rogue statements from CW’s individual businesses.
Yes no doubt dialogues taking place but these brand Directors have done no favours to their staff , CWD shareholders or their own status to new owners seemingly content to have sat back and watched as those they answer too have been slowly driving the car off the cliff over the last few years .
It’s taken external forces to precipitate change
At the moment until CWD is safely delivered, Connells to the brands will be saying if you support Hamilton Academicals they support Hamilton Academicals .
They might not be rogue statements but any future decisions will ultimately be taken elsewhere and I guess if judged by recent history whatever those are they will just sit back and take it on the chin .
One swallow does not make a summer….
JDW is a great brand and so is Hamptons. These really are the Jewell in the crown but they need more investment to get the best people to work there. Now is the time to be building your teams in the branches not cutting the workforce. If they need to make savings get rid of non fee earning expensive staff, you do not need an area director trying to justify their existence by giving the hard working branch fee earners a hard time. Have a branch manager reporting to the top not some expensive area director who then dips the report in glitter to try and make themselves look good, build your fee earners now while you can recruit good ones.
Yes it does look that John D Wood enjoyed excellent trading during 2020 ,despite sales still being slow in the Central London offices and an extremely challenging market ,fair play to them .
“To function efficiently, any group of people or employees must have faith in their leader.”
William Bligh
It therefore must be galling for her colleagues as a reward for their efforts to be sold down the river to Connells into an uncertain future by a set of BODS who have made one bad decision after another .
Connells have already stated that jobs will be lost and those of her colleagues who held shares in Countrywide ,opportunity now lost to mitigate losses.
Probably over £10m incurred in professional charges alone by Countrywide for all the various corporate action taken place during the last couple of years .
Those than run the brands as quiet as church mice failing to take appropriate action when necessary to take control and stop the rot
“John D Wood & Co. says that it is targeting further growth and expansion this year,”
That decision likely to be taken elsewhere