Introduction History
Why Jackson-Stops?
Local knowledge, national strength
The benefits of membership
Figurehead representation
Opportunities
- Opening in a new area (with staged payments option)
- Licence within an existing area
- Purchase of an existing business in whole or part
If you are an ambitious and driven independent estate agent keen to run your own business, but want the backing of an established national brand, Jackson-Stops can provide the ideal opportunity.
Our exclusive Members’ Group is unique in its structure, allowing estate agents to invest in and develop their own business under the Jackson-Stops brand. This spans residential sales and lettings, land and new homes and commercial property.
Each business owner within the Group is responsible for a geographical area and sits on the Jackson-Stops Board of Directors, with oversight on a strict set of rules covering conduct, trading areas, marketing and finance.
The Group is looking to expand and strengthen, with several opportunities available across the UK. Whether
you are an individual looking to open a new office or an existing business wanting to re-brand for more marketing clout, Jackson-Stops can provide the perfect solution.
Opportunities include areas without current representation; areas where established offices are looking to expand and occasionally the transfer of an existing business due to retirement.
The cost of acquiring a new area can be spread over 5 years or more, making the transition to running your own business very cost-effective.
“This is the sort of organisation where there is real opportunity to progress either within your field of expertise or beyond it with support, guidance and training.”
In 1910 Herbert Jackson-Stops established the company in Towcester as auctioneers and valuers. In 1918 he moved the business to Northampton and in 1921 handled the substantial sale of Stowe House and its contents for the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. The sale by auction took 19 days and was described by Country Life as one of the greatest country house sales of the twentieth century.
Wanting to be more than just a successful local auctioneer, in 1924 Herbert opened an office in London and continued to develop the country house business through the 1930s, with 14 Curzon Street, Mayfair becoming the London headquarters. This office was bombed twice in the blitz, after which the business relocated to Hanover Square.
The fragmented files and records were carefully collected and placed in boxes indignantly labelled ‘destroyed by enemy action’.
After the war expansion continued across the country, with more London offices opening in the 1970s and 1980s, including a return to Curzon Street. In 1992 the company changed to its current format, running as an exclusive Group.
The Group has proved to be a highly successful model, attracting like-minded estate agents who have helped grow the network to over 40 offices today, delivering the expert guidance and advice our clients have come to expect.
Established in 1910, our heritage and traditional values have stood the test of time. We utilise those values, knowledge and best practice to provide a professional, efficient and robust service to clients.
Hundreds of appreciative reviews from clients across the country are posted about us online. Some - supportive, kind, reassuring - speak volumes about our ethos, whilst others - professional, astute, superb - reflect our effectiveness.
Our network of over 40 national offices shares information about customer requirements, ensuring that potential purchasers and tenants are aware of properties
that match their requirements wherever they live. Our Mayfair based corporate services team handle enquiries from global companies and overseas investors.
Amongst the first estate agencies online in the 1990s, we deploy the most effective marketing techniques to attract and engage. Advertising on leading property websites and highly engaging social media content (1m impressions per month) provides a strong online presence, reinforced by our own website attracting over 120,000 visit a month.
Extensive coverage is gained through our London based PR agency, with properties regularly featuring in national publications such as The Sunday Times, FT, Country Life and regional titles, as well as digital channels. On average we achieve over 50 editorial mentions a month.
“The flexibility to run your own business and benefit from your own successes whilst working within the structures of the Group agreement has been a source of great satisfaction.”
Landlords stay with us for 10 years on average, relying on our commercial and focused approach to maximizing rents and minimizing arrears and void periods.
As local, regional and national experts, we offer sound and unbiased counsel. Our exceptional level of personalised service is focused on delivering real value.
Clients return to us for support, guidance and assistance in buying, selling and renting their homes. We are proud of our long-term relationships and are rated ‘excellent’ (4.7 out of 5) on TrustPilot. Our advice is always balanced, empathetic and honest, delivering maximum advantage for our clients.
Jackson-Stops has over 40 offices nationwide, currently covering London and the south-east; East Anglia; central England; the Cotswolds; the Midlands; the West Country; the north-west and Wales; Yorkshire and the north-east. In some locations we operate virtual offices and highlight areas of local expertise.
Whilst keeping large, centralised overheads to a minimum, the Group provides a wide range of comprehensive support.
The range of marketing resources available to members is huge and includes full brand guidelines, marketing templates, brochure design facilities, online marketing portal access, digital marketing platforms, direct mail capabilities, Group brochures and a fully supported and responsive website. Our marketing committee manages our brand and its use across the Group as well as overseeing our national advertising contracts (including digital campaigns and in print in The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and Country Life).
Our London-based PR agency ensures that JacksonStops features regularly in the national press, regional publications and online channels. This includes coverage for individual properties, case studies and local market conditions. Chairman Nicholas Leeming is often quoted in the national press commenting on market conditions.
The Group fosters a close-knit network of principals, who meet regularly to discuss best practice and new developments within the industry, offering advice and guidance to each other.
The Group offers robust advice on all compliance issues to ensure that each branch knows what is expected of them and adheres to industry best practice. These include providing terms of business templates for both residential sales and lettings and advice on compliance matters ranging from GDPR to the Consumer Protection Act.
The Group has a conference committee, charged with delivering an annual conference. This informative and educational event features guest presentations from industry experts and offers delegates networking opportunities. There is the chance to share learning and best practice through discussion and the conference includes a gala dinner with awards ceremony.
“Jackson-Stops offers a strong brand, a fantastic network of offices, a proactive PR company and strong marketing capability, backed up by an impressive website. Our business needs have most definitely been met.”
Our finance committee deals with central costs generated within the Group.
Legal support within the Group includes access to employment law and insurance provided by specialist suppliers. We use outside contractors to provide an optional HR consultation service.
Our new media committee deals with all IT issues including the management of the Jackson-Stops website.
Country properties benefit from representation in our Mayfair office at 66 Grosvenor Street W1, where meeting facilities are available for members’ use.
There is a new member’s joining fee of £5,000 plus VAT as well as the cost of acquiring the area to be traded in, which can be spread over 5 years or more.
Members benefit from central resources and expertise - charged on an office-by-office basiswith a member’s single office paying a full share of the costs and any additional offices they open paying reduced contributions.
Nicholas Leeming is Chairman of Jackson-Stops and provides figurehead representation for the Group. His industry experience is extensive. A qualified Chartered Surveyor, Nicholas was a practicing agent for over 15 years, having been a partner in a national firm of estate agents.
Nicholas was the joint founder of Propertyfinder, the UK’s first national property portal, and oversaw its development into one of the country’s best-known property portals. When Propertyfinder was acquired by Zoopla in 2009, Nicholas became its Major Accounts Director.
2012 saw Nicholas’ departure from Zoopla to build a portfolio of board level appointments which have included non-executive directorships at Spark Energy, Belvoir Lettings PLC and Lettingweb, Scotland’s letting portal. In addition to Jackson-Stops Nicholas is also Chairman of Bamboo Auctions, director of an underwriting business
at Lloyds of London and an active investor in a number of early stage, mainly Proptech businesses.
Recognised with the 2008 Estate Agent of the Year Award for Achievement and a judge at more recent industry awards, Nicholas’ roles have involved growing a range of property-related service businesses, from start up to early stage investment and subsequent exit, giving him a unique insight into the property industry.
A go-to expert for the media, Nicholas has regularly been interviewed on television and the printed media and was recently described by a leading trade journalist as “one of the most respected people in the industry”.
“The Group allows for cross-branch and cross-discipline teamwork, with the great advantage of being able to collaborate on ideas from across the Group.”
Diploma in Rural Estate Management, Cirencester College
Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)
2008 Estate Agent of the Year Award for Achievement
Land management and property sales
Partner in charge of the firm’s UK land sales, dealing in the sale or purchase of land and rural estates. Responsibilities included press liaison, marketing and all professional issues relating to the sale of farms and landed estates including some of the most prestigious properties in the UK and Ireland. Following resignation as a partner to concentrate on growing the Propertyfinder business, I remained a consultant to the firm for 8 years.
Jointly founded Propertyfinder, the property portal which over a five-year period established a client base which included many of the best known agency firms in the UK.
The development of the Propertyfinder business saw it grow from a partnership to a wholly owned limited company before external investment was secured from venture capitalists. The business was then merged into Asserta Holdings, a subsidiary of CGNU, before being sold to News International and the REA Group. The founding directors sold out the majority of the equity interest in 2000, but I remained working for the new investors to consolidate Propertyfinder’s position as one of the UK’s leading property portals. As a main board director I was then involved in the sale of the combined businesses to News International and REA in late 2005 where we became part of this global group, reporting to the head office in Melbourne, Australia.
Having led an unsuccessful MBO of Propertyfinder and following Zoopla’s acquisition of the business in 2009, I became major accounts director responsible for the larger clients and prospects. My role also involved representing the business at conferences, handling press/ TV interviews and speaking at industry events. I left Zoopla in 2012 after 15 years in the property portal sector to develop a portfolio of business interests in the property and online sectors.
Board level appointments have included non-executive directorships at Spark Energy and Belvoir Lettings PLC. I am now Chairman of Jackson-Stops, consultant to Lettingweb Ltd and director of an underwriting business at Lloyds of London. In addition to being a trustee of a number of private investment trusts, I am also an investor in a number of early stage, mainly PropTech businesses.
While Jackson-Stops has over 40 offices across the UK, there are areas ready for a new business to be established within the Group. This is through the outright purchase of an area for a new regional centre or group of offices, the cost of which can be spread over 5 years or more. This route allows for membership of the Group and a seat on the Board of Directors.
Crispin Harris - Director
I was originally working as a negotiator for another national agency but felt that there were few prospects for career progression due to the structure of the senior management and their own career paths. I was always looking for opportunities.
The format of the Jackson-Stops Group at that time was a closely guarded secret and it was only by chance that I found out about it and approached the directors of the Chester office, who managed enormous swathes of the
north-west of England. Negotiations led to the purchase of a trading area in the south Manchester region, which incorporated Wilmslow, Knutsford, Alderley Edge, Prestbury and the outlying areas.
Although I’d never really worked in that area, I was aware of the strength of the market and was encouraged by the lack of any national estate agency coverage. We established the office in 1999 and soon became synonymous with the sale of top-end properties. Over 20 years later and we have expanded to include a Hale office and the purchase of the Yorkshire business. We’ve also opened a licensed commercial property business, which is currently operating in Cheshire, and are now looking towards the prime residential markets in Manchester and Leeds.
There have certainly been ups and downs in the market since we opened but the Jackson-Stops brand has provided us with a rock solid base from which to trade. The flexibility to run your own business and benefit from your own successes whilst working within the structures of the Group agreement has been a great source of satisfaction and, dare I say, has created a comfortable living.
We have an initiative that allows existing Jackson-Stops businesses to license out either specific geographical areas within their control or license property-related activities.
These activities include traditional estate agency (sales, lettings and new homes), surveying, commercial and home search services. These can enjoy the benefits of the Jackson-Stops brand but without the cost of full membership of the Group.
I began my estate agency career in my home county of Hertfordshire before moving to London to experience life in the capital and to progress my professional experience. This was followed by a spell in the south of France as a search agent after which I returned to the UK to work for a leading independent estate agent.
Keen to take a more entrepreneurial route within the property industry, I teamed up with Jamie Stephenson and we looked at various options. After careful consideration we decided that a license agreement with Jackson-Stops was the best fit for our experience and our career goals. We joined via this route in 2017.
The opportunity to grow a business within JacksonStops was the most cost-effective route and was an uncomplicated method for us to set up our initial structure. It was very transparent and straightforward, without the initial financial exposure, enabling us to hit the ground running with the guidance of a respected brand and a network of support that offered reassurance and stability in the first year.
Jackson-Stops offers a strong brand, a fantastic network of offices, a proactive PR company and strong marketing capability, which is backed up by an impressive website. Our business needs have most definitely been met. Our future plans are to expand within our territory in Essex with additional offices and subsequently grow our divisions to include Lettings and a commercial offering.
From time to time there are opportunities to buy into existing Jackson-Stops businesses, either taking a minority or a controlling share. For example, a current Jackson-Stops owner looking towards retirement may seek to find a competent successor through a staggered sale of shares over a given period, leading to ultimate control through management succession. Or simply the outright sale to an ambitious agent who wishes to take on an established business
I began my estate agency career at the Jackson-Stops Exeter office in 1989 when it was still a partnership and subsequently worked for two other national estate agents. I re-joined Jackson-Stops in 2017 becoming a director through the route of management succession. The previous majority owner was looking to downsize his share of the business and it made perfect sense for me to take it on as I was keen to remain working in the area and saw the huge value that the Jackson-Stops brand would give me in running my own business.
I have benefitted immensely from joining the Group via the management succession route. The continuity of trading meant that I was able to hit the ground running
and not lose any momentum in setting up a business. Not having a start-up period meant the transition was seamless and it was business as usual from the beginning.
The advantages of being part of the Jackson-Stops Group are many. Our target market is already aware of the brand and that brings with it a wealth of introductions and ready-made contacts. The support and guidance from other members has been fantastic and the close proximity of neighbouring offices has given me a solid network of professionals with the same goals, whom I can call upon for help and advice. Central support is also extremely beneficial in terms of marketing, legal advice, financial planning, compliance and strategy planning. My position on the Board of Directors gives me a great oversight into the national business.
“I’ve benefitted immensely from joining the Group by acquiring an existing business. The continuity of trading meant that I was able to hit the ground running and not lose any momentum in setting up a business.”