Major estate agency firm appoints former Tepilo boss as its first head of digital

Nick Charnock, former CEO of Tepilo, has been appointed to a new role as head of residential digital agency at major property firm JLL.

The business says it wants to be “at the forefront of the digital agency revolution”.

It would not be drawn on whether it has ambitions to enter the online/hybrid space but a spokesperson said that part of Charnock’s role will be to scale JLL’s virtual office programme.

In his new role based in London, Charnock will cover Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Charnock was with Tepilo for two years, following senior roles at Express Estate Agency. He previously had a career in the army.

He remained with Tepilo after its takeover in May by Russell Quirk’s Emoov, but left in July.

At JLL, he will be supporting the firm’s growing market share of residential transactions across EMEA and offer “new innovative technology to buy, sell or rent”.

Andrew Frost, head of residential across the UK and EMEA, said: “The way people buy, sell and rent property is changing.

“We want to be at the forefront of the digital agency revolution to offer clients new, innovative solutions to support and reflect this change.

“In Nick we have the right person to lead this team across Europe. His experience and insight will be valuable to colleagues and clients alike as we continue to drive our residential business forward.”

Charnock said: “Technology and data are making their mark across all areas of real estate, and residential is no exception.

“It is great to be joining JLL at a time when it is putting so much emphasis on using technology to improve client experience and outcomes.

“I look forward to working with clients and colleagues to expand the JLL platform as the sector develops and matures.”

Quirk told EYE: “Nick is a great guy and served Tepilo well as CEO.

“I’m delighted for him on his role at JLL, a company which is clearly more forward thinking than most traditional businesses in understanding and acting upon the importance of technology in our space.”

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7 Comments

  1. ArthurHouse02

    The way people buy and sell property is not changing…exactly what is changing about it? The biggest change was in the early 2000s when Rightmove became so prominent and most property was advertised on the internet. Nothing has changed since then. Buyers still search for property online, sellers still need an estate agent to sell their home (mostly).

    Buyers still view a property, they still have to physically turn up and walk round so nothing has changed in this respect.

    These call centre type agents offer nothing new apart from they are “cheaper” and offer less of a service. What they do is keep pumping out the same jargon without any substance. Disruption, changing, blah blah. Please explain exactly what is changing.

     

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    1. NotAdoctor32

      The way people want to be dealt with is changing, and agents need to adapt – some massively, some slightly, some are ahead of the curve.

      People want instant gratification, they want contact NOW, even out of hours.   They want to message you, not ring you.  They want the agent, FC & solicitor to communicate with each other better, almost like a WattsApp group.

      Not necessarily for a cheaper fee, people will pay more if they get what they want.

      I’m not advocating online agents here, and a lot of ‘PropTech’ is solving problems that don’t exist but there are some genuinely progressive companies out there making things better for the CONSUMER.  The problem is, some agents don’t care about that.  The ones that don’t will fall away and close because the sellers will vote with their feet, then there will be no buyers.

       

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      1. P-Daddy

        This is the company bio about what it offers. Residentially they are niche with high value London property, hence why they are trying to syndicate their data and name. They are mainly a commercial and fund management business…hence this initiative. Info to the virtual doorstep of international investors makes sense…in theory. But only works if you have total market coverage

        http://www.jll.co.uk/united-kingdom/en-gb/about

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  2. GeorgeHammond78

    Agree with both Arthur and Not A but Tepilo was a busted flush (acquired by another one soon to be flushed) so why would JLL want to hire a ‘failure’? But, there again, I never understand how failed football managers seem so easily to get new jobs

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    1. NotAdoctor32

      A quite lucrative gravy train to be sat on.

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    2. PeeBee

      “I never understand how failed football managers seem so easily to get new jobs”

      Because only so many are available at any time…

      Because only so many are “qualified” to do the job…

      Because…

      How many times have you seen Henry or Henrietta the Habitiual Flitter pop up at XYZ&Co and wondered how the chuff they keep getting jobs in our industry?  Thankfully, this shows that it’s the same in every industry.

      And then you get those that flit from industry to industry, with all their “transferrable skills”…

      You couldn’t make it up – could you?
       
      Oh… hang on…

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  3. Property Poke In The Eye

    Virtual Role brings virtual results.   Tepillo was a great success story not!!

    Proptech, disruption, virtual are words used to mug off investors to invest in boll****

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