Neil West expands to two officesBACK

Background

Neil West joined Belvoir in 2005 and prior to that worked in IT for IBM. When he decided to work for himself he began to research business opportunities. Here is Neil’s story:

“I was keen to go down the franchise route, as I knew that training and support were going to be important to me. I visited the National Franchise Exhibition in Birmingham and met Mike Goddard and some members of the Belvoir team. I thought the company seemed very professional and did some research to find out more.

Why Belvoir?

“Belvoir’s training and support are excellent and I opened Belvoir Gloucester in May 2005. When I first started I was in serviced accommodation for about three months until we sorted out the lease on our current offices, which is on the main street where other local agents trade. Competition is strong, but we are doing well and I am considering opening additional office space in the near future.

Success to date:

“In 2008 the Belvoir Cheltenham office became available as a resale. I decided to buy it as I am from Cheltenham and have lived in this area all my life, plus it is only ten miles away from the Gloucester office, so easy to commute.

“When I bought Gloucester I didn’t need help with funding, as I had sold a property but I needed funding to buy Cheltenham. The problem was that, when I approached my own bank and explained about my opportunity to buy a second territory they basically just laughed at me. Fortunately Belvoir believed in me and spoke to RBS, with whom they have an excellent relationship. RBS obviously believed in me too and were more than happy to arrange the necessary funding, so the purchase of Belvoir Cheltenham went through smoothly.

“The support I receive from Belvoir Central Office has always been excellent. When I first bought Gloucester I often contacted them for advice and when I bought Cheltenham I felt supported throughout the entire process. It is great to know that the Belvoir franchise support team is there whenever you need them and is a major benefit of being part of a franchise.

Vision for the future

“When I bought Cheltenham I knew I couldn’t be in two places at once and so I appointed a manager to run Gloucester, which works well. I employ 12 staff in total and nowadays tend to spend 75% of my time in Cheltenham. My biggest challenge is time management and learning to delegate, but it gradually gets easier. I really enjoy what I do and have no regrets about choosing to buy a franchise.”

If you would like to know more about acquiring a Belvoir Franchise, please contact the Recruitment Team on 01476 570000