The UK master franchise for Keller Williams has changed hands – and ambitious new plans have been announced for the American franchise operation in this country.
Matt Fetick, one of the three new UK franchisees, said that in the medium term, the plan is to grow each of the three existing “market centres” by adding 24 ‘brokers’ to each. Currently, they have 100 brokers between them.
He also said that four new market centres will be launched, each with a minimum of 30 brokers.
Within the next five years the ambition is to have 50 market centres, each with a minimum of 100 brokers.
Currently there are three market centres – in Victoria and Mayfair, London, which have been rebranded respectively to KW Premier and KW Prime Properties, and in Leeds.
Keller Williams launched in the UK in 2014 – in contrast to an alternative fact in an article in the Sunday Times which said yesterday that the firm is launching in the UK next month.
In fact, in October 2015, EYE interviewed the then UK master franchisee, Donald Morris, just over a year after the enterprise went live in Britain.
At that point there were the same three market centres, with 106 brokers, all self-employed, between them. The enthusiastic Morris also announced plans to open two more market centres.
While it would appear that there has been stalled growth, Fetick emphasised that the operation has not failed, and that so far its time in the UK should really be seen as a soft launch – although it would appear unusual for a soft launch to have quite such a lengthy timeframe.
Morris has now relinquished the UK master franchise.
Fetick, who together with Diane Griffin, the Leeds franchisee, and Ben Kinney who co-owns the Mayfair centre along with Fetick, took over the UK master franchise in November.
All three are Americans who also own Keller Williams franchises in the States.
Fetick, pictured below, told EYE that initial projections for the business had been too advanced. “We have hit our own targets, but not other people’s,” he said.
He also revealed that the business is recruiting a new managing director for the UK, who he said will be a top candidate, well known in the UK industry.
In addition, he said, there are candidates for owning Keller Williams franchises in Manchester and Bristol.
How much does a franchise cost? “The franchise itself is £35,000 but we also recommend a minimum of £150,000 cash reserves.”
All the property consultants are self-employed, with the accent mainly on sales rather than lettings.
The attraction for the property consultants is that they keep 70% of their commission, although they do have to hand over a large chunk of their earnings to Keller Williams –π up to £60,000 in a year. Once they have made the company that £60,000, they get to keep 100% of the rest of their commission.
Clearly, the brokers are valuable commodities for the organisation, since they hand over a chunk of their earnings to both the local market centre and to the international Keller Williams.
However, Fetick says that the proposition is appealing to a growing number of high-quality agents with both independent and corporate backgrounds. Some, he said, are already working out their notices in order to join.
The big question is whether an American franchise operation will ever truly succeed in the UK. Their successes here have, so far, been under-stated – as have attempts by UK firms to crack the US market.
However, Fetick is upbeat, saying that Keller Williams – described on its website as a training company that just happens to be in estate agency – is different. Instead of focusing on building its franchisees, it instead puts its property brokers at the centre.
The firm is also this week launching a tie-up with Gazeal, which offers a system by which buyers and sellers are contracted once a sale has been agreed.
Not only are you self employed at KWUK, no salary, no paid holiday leave, no pensions, but they have to pay for the chair, coffee, paper, printer, stamps and phone lines at their ‘call centres’. You also have no choice but to pay for their ‘pointless’ training. I don’t think it will do any better than the failures of those before it.
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If you consider “training” pointless you may have a point. Our training is designed to ensure that our agents meet the highest standards of both technical ability and customer service- in fact we have won many awards from the training industry both within and outside the real estate market – in order to offer our clients and customers knowledgeable and up to date market information together with excellent customer service.
Being self employed is not a disadvantage for high quality and hard working agents – it’s a benefit – you earn what you are worth which for many of our agents is substantially more than working for a high street agency. When I do £100,000 of gross commission I earn nearly £70,000 and once I’ve done £215,00 in a year I keep 100% – surely worth losing a small basic and 10% ( and I don’t pay for my desk, phones,etc) – and the clients belong to me not the agency. Eddie Redstone. KW Prime
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But you’ve left Keller Williams now, haven’t you Eddie?
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It is totally disadvantageous to recruit, or attempt to recruit agents on such low commission structures and get them to pay all sorts of fees on top.
Keller Williams is practically unheard of in the UK, suggest if they want to recruit true professionals they pay an attractive fee split, 90/10 would be more appropriate for true real estate professionals.
Otherwise just expect turnover of agents and loss of revenue. FAILURE
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I wouldn’t touch this with a bargepole.
If I had £185,000 available why on earth would I use it to promote someone else’s (currently as good as unknown in UK) brand AND give them 30% of the commission?
Madness.
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I think you misread the article. If you want to open your own franchise (market centre) with them they recommend having £185,000. If you’d like to start your business as an agent or property consultant (not owning the franchise but as a part of one of their market centres) you would then only give them 30% of your commission.
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Thanks for the clarification RebeccaD. I am afraid that either way it remains a thoroughly unattractive proposition.
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A massive American Financial Adviser and Stockbroker company Called Edward Jones tried something similar in the UK a few years ago and it was a total disaster.
Are not PB trying to achieve something similar….a large UK wide franchise/self employed branded operation?
That is why I cannot understand why RM are allowing them to use their prospecting products as they are also growing their own mini portal?
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the ‘google starting up on yahoo’ syndrome.
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This weeks ‘disruptor/game changer’ has come in early!
In a quote in EAT (which I must be the only one to subscribe to as there never seems to be any posts. Unlike Mrs EB I can’t start an argument on my own!) Mr Fetick says (allegedly):
“That means the broker is the point of contact for the buyer and the seller. The broker chases the solicitor, chases the surveyor, chases the buyer, chases the buyer’s agent. All the time there’s feedback to the seller but it’s the broker who does everything”
Ermmm, isn’t that what all us estate agents do?
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It’s definately what I do…plus I take the photographs as well!!!
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The biggest flaw is that in the USA brokers have the MLS where in the UK KW operate as lone estate agents.
It doesnt matter how many power trainers they bring over. Without access to other agents stock and outlets brokers without access to more outleys and more sub stock is just lone agency.
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