Two major players in the rural real estate industry have announced a partnership they say will deliver benefits for both customers and shareholders.
Farmlands Real Estate and Property Brokers have combined to establish a specialised, nationwide real estate and property management service with aspirations to lead the provincial realty market.
Property Brokers is one of New Zealand's most prominent provincial real estate and property management providers, with 45 branches and more than 650 staff nationwide.
Farmlands Co-operative is New Zealand's largest farmer-owned co-operative.
Under the partnership, Property Brokers now owns and manages the day-to-day real estate business created from the agreement.
Farmlands Co-operative will continue to support real estate through its extensive network, events, customer loyalty programme and shareholder discounts.
The long-term strategic partnership will provide a broader footprint, increased scale, more resources and improved service for customers, including Farmlands' 70,000 shareholders and Property Brokers' provincial client base.
Under the new partnership, the co-operative retains its investment in real estate and will receive a contribution on future sales.
Farmlands' farmer-grower shareholders still receive special real estate offers as part of their co-operative ownership model - including an exclusive discount on commission and Choices Rewards Points (the co-operative's customer loyalty scheme).
A large store network has been created, with existing Property Brokers sites throughout New Zealand being supplemented by most of the co-operative's real estate offices.
The combination of breadth and depth is something both company CEOs are excited about.
"Farmlands Co-operative has a strong network, highly regarded brand and expert knowledge of the rural sector. Property Brokers is a business that solely focuses on real estate - we know and understand provincial property and real estate agents," said Property Brokers general manager Conrad Wilkshire.
"We are a growing business, and our real estate track record is backed up with strong training, systems and marketing support."
Chairman of Property Brokers, Tim Mordaunt, said the new partnership would give the pair 20 percent share of the rural property market.
"Farmlands is one of the largest players in rural New Zealand. Bringing Farmlands and Property Brokers together, with a network of offices, scaled-up infrastructure and a focused realty business is very exciting," he said.
"Together, we aspire to grow our market share considerably."
Farmlands chief executive Peter Reidie said the partnership between the co-operative's real estate arm and Property Brokers was a great result for shareholders.
"We are an ambitious business and to achieve the size and scale we want for our shareholders, we have partnered with a nationwide brand that has a proven track record in this highly specialised service," he said.
"More customers up and down the country will now have access to specialist rural, lifestyle and residential real estate services and property management*."
That partnership reach will take Property Brokers to over 700 staff across 64 locations, from Kaitaia to Invercargill.*
"Together, we can grow this business on a scale we could not achieve on our own," said Reidie.
* Farmlands will continue to administer its property management portfolio and its West Coast real estate sites, pending Commerce Commission clearance.
This article was created for Farmlands and Property Brokers.
