Former Countrywide boss Bob Scarff has been appointed a non-executive director by Farrell Heyworth, which operates in Lancashire and Cumbria.
Until May last year, Scarff was responsible for the 800 branches of the Countrywide network outside London.
He left Countrywide in a reorganisation that marked the beginning of a wholesale change in senior management at the UK’s largest property services group.
In his LinkedIn profile, Scarff lists his status as “consultant to forward thinking ambitious UK estate agents”.
The highly reputable Farrell Heyworth, established in 1991, has 18 sales and lettings branches which are open seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm on weekdays.
Director Jeremy Collins said: “Everyone at Farrell Heyworth is delighted and excited at the prospect of working closely with Bob, who we regard as one of the property industry’s leading figures, and who will bring to the group a wealth of experience as we enter the next phase of development with innovative plans for expansion in the near future.”
Scarff told EYE: “I have had an enormous respect for the Farrell Heyworth business ever since the late nineties when I oversaw the management of Bairstow Eves, the Countrywide subsidiary in Lancashire at the time.
“They were a formidable competitor – and not just by offering cheap fees. These guys are proper estate agents.
“Since I’ve got to know them better my admiration has grown, and I am very excited about working with them and helping them shape their business as they enter their second quarter-century.”
Comments (7)
Good wishes to Bob and welcome to the independent sector.
Some independents may ask why?
The simple answer to that is that Bob has shown his commitment to this sector as a true estate agent as he lost his highly paid job by supporting a full service sector that he truly believes in?
How many people would have risked that job to defend OUR position?
When CW now advocated that estate agency is a retail business how many of you would have simply agreed so as to protect your position?
What is interesting is that many other people within the CW corporate competition, have also stood their ground and were also therefore dispensed with?
Why, is it because they also believe in a full service sector?
Unfortunately, it may now appear once again, that that CW now see estate agency as a loss leader to draw in those cross selling opportunities, particularly if they do a deal with a very large portal to mine that valuable data at your expense?
Why do you think that RM announced their independence by choosing to cut their overnight feed on 4th July 2016?
Real time data is the most important information any estate agent possesses and we have just surrender that information for ‘free’!
Time to wake up to Ladies and Gentlemen?
Have we just lost a war?
I feel sorry for Farrell,s.
why so, or am I missing something?
Judging from previous comments I don’t think ‘hodge’ had a lot of time for Mr Scarff…
Ah a personal thing, I see thought I was missing something important!
Certainly not a personal thing but as anyone on the inside knows CPl was set up by said individual and just look at that. When Harry and Gerry left and said person took the reigns the a massive re organisation took place resulting in a many an MD (profitable MDs ) losing jobs.
Now if C/wide learnt anything from the Nationwide takeover it was continuity is King and a stark and Ill thought through change causes havoc.
It also should have learned that people work for people and not companies, so if the leaders go then so do the disciples.
JFDI is not a direct management style, it,s alack of any style and thought process.
Some of the best MDs and FSds are now with Connells etc and look how well they are doing in the same market.
Alison Platt may have the wrong direction (time will tell) but obliteration of the successful leaders borders on stupidity.
As forest says Stupid is as Stupid does. But no, it,s certainly not personal, just observational.
Seems that Platt in her efforts for change is in danger of throwing out the babies with the bathwater. Now undertaken a complete U-turn of abandoning expansion by M&A by cranking up debt buying turnover for “organic” growth ,She and the BODS then decided to shut 50 offices in some vain hope that cutting costs and merging brands might somehow mitigate the lost turnover .Labouring under a grave misunderstanding that the turnover will seamlessly move elsewhere in the network.
Staff morale must have have plumetted with negotiaters as they enter the office in the morning wondering where the axe will fall next.History has shown that it tends to be the best ones that go clients attaching , Impossible task now to change from managing the £400m “goodwill” debt pile to pruning ,Goodwill has a nasty habit of diasappearing out the back door .CWD in its current form is going to be death by instalments