Welcome to my stock journal. I hope to improve as an investor by publishing research notes here. Today, I’m taking a closer look at The Property Franchise Group (TPFG).

Property Franchise (LON:TPFG) claims to be “the UK’s largest multi-brand lettings and estate agency franchising group” with over 250 franchisees and 438 branches. It has 73,000 tenancies under management and sells 20,000 properties per year. Its brands include:

  • CJ Hole - Established in 1867 and acquired in 2014. Based in the South West with 15 territories and specialises in lettings, sales and property investment. Rated 4.8/5 on allAgents
  • Ellis & Co - Founded in 1850 with 16 territories and acquired in 2014. London based and offering sales and lettings. Rated 4.6/5 on allAgents
  • EweMove - Founded in 2013 under a hybrid model (no offices) and acquired in 2016. Unlike Purple Bricks, which takes a fee once a sale is agreed, EweMove operates a traditional completed sales model. It offers both sales and lettings and is ranked 4.8/5 on Trustpilot
  • Hunters - Founded in 1992 and acquired in 2021, Hunters is the UK’s third largest estate agent brand with 190 franchise territories and 10 further self run offices nationwide. Ranked 4.3/5 on allAgents.
  • Martin & Co - Over 30 years old and second largest brand in the group after Hunters with 151 territories nationwide. 83% of revenue is generated from lettings. 3.7/5 on allAgents
  • Parkers - Established in 1948 and acquired in 2014. Parkers is based around the M4 corridor with 14 territories. 4.3/5 on allAgents
  • Whitegates - Acquired in 2014 and serving the North of England, Wales and the Midlands since 1978 with 28 territories. 4.4/5 on allAgents
  • Mullucks - based in the South East with 3 territories and joined the Hunters group in 2019.
  • Country Properties - operates 15 territories in the South East and was acquired by Hunters in 2015.

TPFG charges an £18,500 set up fee per franchise before office and staff costs. The company says that the total cost to get up and running in a high-street location is around £100,000 of which around a third must be funded personally by franchisees (presumably the rest is via bank debt). Once set up, franchisees must pay a percentage of their revenue to TPFG in the form of Management Service Fees (MSF). This fee equated to around 10% of franchise turnover in the last two years,…

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