Growing property group iamproperty has chalked up a 15% hike in half year sales following a record trading period.
The iamproperty group started out as a two-man team operating from a Tyneside house back in 2009, when Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway saw a gap in the market for a property auction company which could benefit both estate agents and buyers.
It has now grown to a 185-strong group encompassing complementary businesses, with other online businesses under development.
The firm provides estate agents across the Ƶ and Ireland with outsourced auction management services and in 2016 it helped clients to sell more than 2,400 properties, making the company the largest provider of outsourced auction services in the Ƶ.
The firm, based in Arden House, Gosforth, Newcastle, has now posted H1 2019 turnover of £12.6m, a 16% leap on the 10.9m recorded for the first half of last year.
The group’s flagship brand iamsold is the Ƶ’s largest independent residential auctioneer and pioneer of the Modern Method of Auction (MMOA), and celebrates its 10th anniversary this summer.
Having firm now works with nearly 2,500 estate agency branches nationwide and siince its launch in 2009 has sold more than 16,500 properties through auctions.
Despite ongoing economic headwinds, the property group said it is on course to complete 4,000 auction sales in 2019 for the first time in its history.
Jamie Cooke, managing director at iamsold, said: “Our business is on course for another record-breaking year in terms of revenue and property sales – testimony to the hard work from our entire team.
“As MMOA continues to grow as a category for residential property sales, it’s crucial that we develop and strengthen our market-leading capabilities across technology and compliance and to be at the forefront of industry best-practice.
“We are in a strong position to maintain our growth. In the short term we want to expand our offering to estate agents, by giving them a one-stop-shop of modern solutions that help them to provide exceptional customer experiences.”
Earlier this year, iamproperty received a minority investment from mid-market private equity house LDC to support the company’s continued growth. LDC has backed the existing management team at the company to support its ongoing growth strategy.
Meanwhile, iamproperty has appointed Mark Goddard as group chairman.
Mr Goddard brings a wealth of experience to the board as the former managing director of property services at Zoopla’s parent company ZPG and the former chief executive officer of The Property Software Group.
Ben Ridgway, group managing director of iamproperty, added: “We are delighted to welcome Mark Goddard as Group Chairman of iamproperty. Mark’s knowledge of the sector and his experience in providing strategic input and direction will be key to the long-term success of iamproperty.
“Having both Mark and LDC on board will help to grow our market presence, diversify our proposition and support further investment in our technology.”
