Keller Williams UK CEO Ben Taylor has dismissed speculation that Aspire, which he launched in Jan 2019, has closed, while also denying that KW Exeter is about to cease trading.
EYE was told earlier this week that KW Aspire has shut with its remaining four agents operating from the KW Prime Market Centre; they no longer operate individually on the main property portals. The KWUK website shows that the KW Prime Leadership is running the operation.
“Last week they folded into Prime due to lack of agents and listings and inability to attract and keep staff,” a source told EYE.
Launched in April 2022, EYE was told that KW Exeter also followed suit last week folding their operation into KW Plus in Essex. Their Rightmove only shows two properties SSTC.
“They haven’t grown in over two years and last year it was widely reported in the press that KW Warwick, KW Bristol ceased operating with KW Leeds also shutting and sending their agents into KW Plus,” the source added.
EYE contacted Ben Taylor requesting clarity on the matter.
The KWUK CEO explained: “We are dedicated to supporting our agent business owners in developing and growing their businesses and we believe that the best way to provide this is by utilising our most experienced leadership team members and sharing their knowledge and expertise, as well as the well-established tools, models and processes across the network.
“KW Aspire has not been closed. KW Aspire has been collaborating with KW Oxygen for a number of months, and is now collaborating with KW Prime instead. Agents have been utilising our Maidenhead and London centres for some time. Each of our agents have access to our centres around the country, benefiting from the community and network this provides.
“The collaboration is a part of our strategic plan to support more agents across KW in the UK. No agents or owners leaving KWUK have triggered this change, it’s simply a realignment of leadership resources in supporting the KW Aspire agents.”
With regards to KW Exeter, he added: “Again, KW Exeter has not merged, but is collaborating. Existing KW Exeter agents are benefitting from access to the extensive and well-established KW Plus training calendar in addition to that provided by the Exeter leadership team who are very much in place, actively supporting their agents day to day whilst working hard on growing their agent community over the coming period.
“We have, during our growth phase, operated from two temporary locations in Weybridge and will be opening in another physical location in that vicinity in due course.”
He continued: “We currently have 12 centres across the UK. KWUK has 436 Associates [including team members and leadership) as of 17 April, of which 337 are independent business owners, either solo agents or lead team members.
“Associates include both our 30-plus strong leadership team across the country, supporting every agent in building their businesses, as well as the team members within our agents’ businesses. More than 65 agents have joined KWUK so far in 2023.”
Don’t understand why Keller Williams gets so many postings on the PIE. All waffle. Just being honest!
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‘Closing? No, we are merely collaborating’
Ben Taylor, the property industry’s own Comical Ali
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[Sentence removed as it breached posting rules] He drinks way to much of the kool aid.
Weybridge (Aspire) closed its doors ages ago, they just kept it very quiet.
The fact that Exeter are using Essex for their training doesn’t say a lot about the leadership team in Exeter does it.
Why would they move agents from Oxford to Prime? Is he also saying the leadership group there are not fit for purpose.
Move along Ben and get out of your way as you would say and let someone people respect have a go.
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The 5 Stages of Decline – How The Mighty Fall by Jim Collins.
1. Hubris born of success.
2. Undisciplined pursuit of more.
3. Denial of risk.
4. Grasping for salvation.
5. Capitulation to irrelevance.
In stage 3, leaders discount negative data, amplify positive data and put a spin on ambiguous data.
Not sure which stage KW as a parent company are at but it must be worrying for them.
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KW Aspire was steeped in horrific debt that they couldn’t afford to staff it and run it. He Ben backed off from being an OP because he is “too important” and some bonkers guru from the US told him to keep away. The business merged agebts into Oxygen (Oxford) years ago, but there was no incentive to grow Aspire. So doomed it’s closed its door on a mahooosive debt…..that no doubt came from the poor people that invest in a market centre!
Ben needs to get out of his own way – does he not see the damage he is doing?
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I tried to reach one of the London offices recently and didn’t recieve a reply. A receptionist just said that someone will call who never did.I tried more than once and each time I received the same response. Looking at the number of listings showing, I took the view that they had closed this particular branch and there were no staff to run it either. Told them years ago when they approached me, that their model wouldn’t work and was told that I was wrong – it was the new way. Really glad I stuck with the old way – and still running my successful agency!!
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Why does PIE not even bother to do some simple fact checking? It chooses instead to give air-time to a [Word removed as it breached posting guidelines]
KWUK website shows only 11 Market Centres not 12. Of those 11; Leeds, Weybridge and Edinburgh no longer exist. They have no premises, no leadership teams and no agents. So 12 is in fact 8.
A simple search of companies house with clearly demonstrate what a dire state both the region and the remaining KWUK market centres are in.
So riddle me this Batman. Why does the largest real-estate company on the planet perform so appallingly in the UK? The answer… look to the leadership or the lack there of.
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Smoke and fire and all that. A simple review of the facts (let alone the many, many leaks from current / ex KWUK leaders) over the past 12-24 months paints a clear picture: fewer offices, fewer agents, fewer listings.
Something is wrong. Is it the model? Many independent agents have thrived since leaving the high street over the past five years. A different version of agency than the traditional high-street model can absolutely work in the UK – it’s naive and defensive to claim it can’t. It has the obvious potential to be much better for both the client and the agent (when done correctly..)
So, it must be the KWUK model in the UK? The vision may be right, the implementation is clearly wrong.
With any business, corporate or independent, the buck ultimately rests with the woman / man at the top. That’s why they’re paid the big bucks.
How many years is too many years before making the change?
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