Martin and Co Franchise

Launch to leader

No stranger to success, former estate agent Alex Lamb, the Business Owner of Martin & Co Northampton has had an incredible month, even by his own high standards! Two months ago Alex was preparing to launch the latest Martin & Co office in Northampton and was looking forward to following his business plan and meeting targets. However these targets were blown out of the water when the Northampton office recorded Martin & Co's most successful opening month by any of their 175 offices UK wide. Alex was inundated with landlords and tenants searching for a high quality service in the local area. Not fazed by the demand, Alex not only coped but excelled letting over 30 properties in September alone and even managed to let 10 properties within a few hours of being instructed!

In times of a recession and doom and gloom headlines, it's nice to see a local business defying the odds. To make sure that the rapid growth is sustainable Alex has increased the Northampton office's team size with two new additions. Tom Currid has joined the business as a Lettings Negotiator, bringing with him over 10 years of industry experience. And Gemma Wakeling has been appointed Property Manager and is an expert in customer and client relations.

These results are very impressive so what is the key to Alex's success? "There's no real secret to our success. We felt that the level of service on offer to landlords and tenants in the local area wasn't good enough and we were confident that we could do better. We have had numerous experienced landlords joining us from competitors and have even had thank you cards through the post commenting on the high levels of service we have provided them", commented Alex.

"We are determined to establish the Northampton office as the market leader in the local area. We recently held our first landlord surgery, where our landlords got together and discussed issues affecting the local lettings market and we have had great feedback and intend to continue the meetings in the future."

So what's next for Alex and Martin & Co Northampton? "We don't really aim to change much to be honest. We will continue to base all of our business around high customer service. We will continue to invest time in our tenants to make sure that we find the right property for them and with the launch of the brand new www.martinco.com website we now have an even more effective tool at our disposal to market our landlords' properties."

The future certainly looks bright for the local letting agent and with the launch of their latest offers, including a 0% portfolio transfer for landlords and a 25% discount on admin fees for tenants, the office looks like it will be busier than ever!

Could you be the next Northampton?

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Aldershot ahead of target

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Sink or swim!

That's the motto of franchise owner Susan Hume who opened the Martin & Co franchise in Dundee earlier this year. 

Susan had always wanted to run her own business and the franchising opportunity with Martin & Co gave her just that. However the flexibility the franchise business model offered here was top of her list. Susan's daughter is the British swimming champion for 100m and 200m freestyle and is training very hard for the 2012 Olympics. Running her own business, Susan can support her daughter with her early morning training sessions and accompany her on important competitions. The Commonwealth Games in India in 2010 is next!

Husband and wife team take Newport by storm

Husband and wife Neil and Lisa Williams both had a long term interest in property and turned to Martin & Co after deciding they wanted to launch a business in the lettings sector.

We were already aware of the company's national name, brand and reputation so it wasn't a difficult choice when it came to picking a franchise," said Neil. Newport was also an obvious choice for locating the business, and opened early in 2007. More >> 

Islington - from rock promoter to franchisee

It might seem like a far cry from rock promoter and manager to the owner of a lettings franchise in Islington. But for Adam Clasby, who once worked with big names including Robert Palmer, UB40, Alice Cooper and Paul Young, it wasn't really such a difficult move.  More >> 

Sheffield North move from phones to property

When Tony Deveney and Carl Doogan, who had previously forged a strong working relationship as senior executives at the Carphone Warehouse, decided to set up their own lettings business in Sheffield North, they researched the market with their usual thoroughness. "We did a full competitive analysis of all the available alternatives, and Martin & Co won hands down," says Tony. "Not only is theirs the leading brand in the sector, but - in return for a substantially lower initial investment and lower ongoing franchise fees - their package was easily the most comprehensive." More >> 

Keeping it in the family!

Father and daughter team Bob and Claire Urwin opened their Martin & Co franchise in Oxford in October 2006. "Over the previous 10 years, I had built up my own property portfolio," says Bob, who used to run his own newspaper publishing business before merging it with a local broadcasting company and floating it on the Alternative Investment Market in 2003. "Claire had always been interested in the sector and used to help me manage the properties - so a lettings business seemed like the natural thing to do."  More >> 

Former beauty queen launches new business at 64!

Sandra Reeves is not the type to revel in the quiet life. Keen to show that age doesn't have to be a barrier to launching a new business , Sandra launched a Martin & Co franchise at the age of 64 in 2006. I worked in the printing industry before retiring and then found I was restless. I have still got a lot to offer, bundles of energy and I am always buzzing with ideas.  More >> 

Franchising - tried and tested

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From redundancy to rental!

Martin & Co Wimbledon franchise owner Ian Waldron shares his experience and views on why redundancy doesn't have to be the end but can be the beginning. More >>