Steve Harriott, chief executive of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, said: “This is a very helpful clarification of an issue which has been concerning landlords and agents.  The judgement in this Court of Appeal case should assist those landlords and agents who want to ask for rent in advance and who can be reassured that this is not a tenancy deposit that needs protecting under the Housing Act 2004.”

SAFEagent denotes letting agents that subscribe to a Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme, which means that financial protection is offered should a letting agent fold or abscond with client funds.

More than 8.56 million households are now privately rented, up from 1.88 million in 2001.

Alex Clark Lettings of 3 Bath Street, Cheltenham, signed up to SAFEagent in 2012.  It is also a member of NALS.

Alex Clark said: “Rogue letting agents give the industry a bad name.  They are an exception yet they dominate the headlines because of the financial nightmare and distress they cause.  Landlords and tenants can protect themselves from this risk and carefully choose their letting agent.  At Alex Clark Lettings, we take every measure to protect our clients’ funds and this is highlighted by our commitment to SAFEagent.”

John Midgley, chair of the SAFEagent steering group, said: “The number of families and households privately renting their homes continues to rise, so it is of the utmost importance that they know how to ensure that their monies are protected and to avoid rogue landlords.  SAFEagent Saturday is an opportunity for tenants and landlords to find out about industry best practice and what they should be looking for in a letting agent.

“The message is simple!  Be SAFE – choose a SAFEagent from the growing list of professional firms who are placing hundreds of tenants into rental property in Gloucestershire each year, and sleep easy in the knowledge that your rental funds and tenancy deposits have complete protection.”

Over 2,000 letting agents have now signed up to SAFEagent.  In addition to Government support, key organizations in the industry including Which, Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter, Crisis, The Property Ombudsman, Consumer Focus, National Union of Students, OFT, GLA and Trading Standards Institute have all allied themselves to the scheme.  Key suppliers to the sector are also standing behind the campaign – for example, HomeLet, Imfuna and CFPwinMan have led the way in pledging their backing to it.

To find out more about SAFEagent visit www.safeagents.co.uk

The company is owned and run by Peter Greenwood who recently retired from the Royal Navy as a Commander after spending 30 years in front-line operational roles and most recently played a key role in the planning of the maritime security for the 2012 Olympics.  Peter has lived in Kingston (Coombe) for 14 years with his wife Emma and their children.

Commenting on opening his new business Peter says,  ‘I’m delighted to have opened my office this weekend, North Kingston is a wonderful community, with a great neighbourly feel to it; being part of a fabulous parade of shops and with the benefit of 1 hour free parking bays opposite the office and in the close surrounding roads, it is the perfect location for a lettings agency and with residential lettings at an all time high I know I’ve chosen the very best place to open my new business.’

Alex Clark Lettings will be open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9.30am to 4pm, just drop by for a chat at any time.

Staff Member of the Quarter Jan 2013

GAIL SHEPHERD – CREDIT CONTROLLER

Thank you for demonstrating the continued commitment required

throughout this quarter, particularly during the absence of your colleagues.

You made the difference!

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Landlords-need-stand-good-stead-Green-Duty-writes/story-17937060-detail/story.html

Long established Gloucestershire letting agent Alex Clark has recently rebranded to reflect the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s history.

Founded by Cheltenham born and bred Alex Clark, the agency, which has over 1,000 residential lettings properties on its books and which is consistently the top performing agency in the county, is ringing the changes with an eye-catching new brand and website developed for them by the locally based, national design agency, Creative.

Says Alex,

‘The original brand did us proud for many years and is well recognised across the county, but with the launching of our new franchise business, it seemed like a good time to look at our image again.’

Alex Clark Lettings Franchise Ltd, which launched in December 2011, already has one franchisee, Vince Mitchell in Bath Street, Gloucester and is currently recruiting more across the UK.

Alex continues,

‘We asked the designers to create an image for us that was strong and ambitious and that reflected this new era for our company.  We’ve invested a lot of time and money into launching the new franchise business in what is quite a ‘busy’ market place, so it’s crucial that potential customers experience a ‘wow’ factor when they see us at exhibitions, in print or online; we also think the new eye-catching ‘to let’ boards will go down well in our local Gloucestershire market with their eye-catchingand distinctive feel.’

Based on his successful Cheltenham lettings agency the new company, which had its official launch at the Franchise Show in London recently, is now open for business and looking for franchisees across the UK.

Success has been swift and the company has already awarded its first franchise in Gloucester and has plans to award more in the region soon. The strength of the Alex Clark brand is such that growth is likely to stem from the local area initially but a nationwide advertising campaign will soon bring the Alex Clark Lettings Franchise brand to the rest of the UK.

With the 2011 Nat West/BFA survey stating that franchising  brings £12.4 billion to the UK economy and that 90% of franchised businesses are  in profit, it’s no surprise that new franchisee Vince Mitchell who  now owns Alex Clark Lettings – Gloucester  in Worcester Streets is delighted with his new business,

‘The knowledge and support I have obtained by going the franchise route with Alex gives me a huge advantage to get under-way and be successful much more quickly and confidently that I would have done otherwise.’

Says Alex,

‘We’re absolutely delighted to have Vince on board and the team at head office have been working closely with him recently to ensure he has all the support and training he needs to build a sustainable and profitable business. We have another franchisee about to launch very soon and will be releasing details of his location in the near future. ‘

He continues,

‘After many months of planning and paperwork finally launching at the show was fantastic; we were able to get in front of the public and tell them about, what we believe to be, the best property lettings franchise in the market place. The response from visitors to our stand was fantastic and we’re now in the process of following up the numerous leads from the show.’

With a business strap line that says ‘The Adventure starts here’ Alex explains,

‘We truly believe that the difference between us and others in our industry is that we are genuine experts in our field. My staff and I are drawing on over 20 years of experience of letting properties and we want to pass all of that knowledge on to our franchisees to make sure they are fully equipped to run sustainable, profitable businesses. Our franchisees can be sure that whatever questions they have or issues they come across, we’ve seen them and dealt with them before. Our franchise model, recently accepted by the British Franchise Association, is a great way to get into this rapidly expanding sector and we cannot wait to start helping motivated individuals across Gloucestershire and its environs  to build their own highly successful businesses.’

To find out more about the franchise opportunities available through Alex Clark Lettings Franchise visit the website www.alexclarkfranchise.co.uk or call on 01242 210708.