Tag: franchises

DonPiso: Invests €22M In Residential & Plans To Have 120 Offices By 2018

29 June 2017 – Eje Prime

It is one of the survivors of the property crisis, but with differences. DonPiso, founded in 1984, has lived through several economic crises and has seen itself both grow and contract. It has changed hands several times and has reached a new economic cycle, in which, finally, the real estate business seems to be getting a break. (…) It plans to have 120 offices operational this year and invest more than €22 million on the construction of around fifteen residential developments, as Emiliano Bermúdez, Deputy General Manager of DonPiso, explained to EjePrime.

DonPiso was one of the first real estate agencies to be founded in Spain, along with Grupasa, although it was not until 1997, that it began its expansion through franchises, achieving penetration across the whole of the Spanish market. Its mixed model, based on intercalating the opening of own offices with franchises, allowed it to leave Barcelona and begin expanding across the national market. “The results broke all expectations”, recalls Bermúdez.

In 2001, DonPiso was acquired by Ferrovial and, in 2006, it changed hands once again, on this occasion to be controlled by the real estate group Habitat. It was then, when the firm had a network of almost 400 offices, that the economic crisis hit its business, forcing Habitat into creditor bankruptcy and, whereby, leaving DonPiso in a delicate situation.

“Luis Pérez, José Antonio Pérez, Miguel Ángel Vázquez and I (Emiliano Bermúdez) joined forces and took control of DonPiso for €1.8 million”, said the Director. The distribution network was cut to fifty offices.

“We now find ourselves in a new era for DonPiso” – added the Director, “We have been born again and we have managed to weave a network of 90 establishments”. “The company is smaller, but it is not unreasonable to think that, at some point, we could be as large as we were ten years ago”, said the Director.

Roadmap 

In this way, DonPiso has set itself some ambitious objectives for the next few years. According to the company, the optimal outcome in 2017 would be to reach a network of 115 operational offices across Spain, which would mean opening 25 more in the next six months. Bermúdez sees that as “more than feasible, thanks to the pace that we are enjoying”.

Besides second-hand homes, the company’s plans also include a sizeable business relating to the new home segment, with its residential developments. It is currently marketing seven developments. “This year, we will build six more, at least, depending on the buildable land that we are able to access and in 2018, we plan to build between 5 and 6 additional developments”, added the Director.

According to DonPiso, each development requires an initial investment of €1.5 million. Then, according to the Director, you have to add the other expenses “which tend to be financed through debt and partners joining the project”. “The average DonPiso development sees around fifty homes coming onto the market”, said Bermúdez.

Thanks to all of these plans, DonPiso has also set itself the objective of increasing its turnover. In 2016, the company sold €309.6 million in terms of production, with 2,048 units and the business margin was €1.55 million. “The forecast for this year is optimistic: sales of more than 2,500 units and a growth margin of 25%”, said Bermúdez.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Donpiso Will Open 50 New Offices In 2017

30 January 2017 – Expansión

The real estate broker Donpiso will open between 40 and 50 new offices this year, with the aim of strengthening its commercial network in the Spanish market. The company opened 30 new offices last year and brokered operations worth €375 million in total, up by 76% compared with the previous year (€213.4 million). In 2014, its brokered volumes amounted to €139.4 million. The company brokered 2,503 operations last year, almost twice as many as during the previous year.

Donpiso’s plans include having 120 offices in its network by the end of the year. Most of the new offices will be opened in the Community of Madrid, the Community of Valencia, País Vasco, Andalucía and the Canary Islands.

Last year, the most significant increase in terms of office numbers was seen in Cataluña, where the firm’s central headquarters are located.

The company’s expansion is based on a mixed model. Of the new offices opened in 2016, eight were owned offices and 22 were franchises. This year, the firm wants to maintain the same proportion, and whereby exert full control over c. 25% of its offices.

Donpiso, which recorded turnover of €7.5 million last year, will invest €2.5 million on its expansion plans, of which €500,000 will be allocated to opening its own offices and the remainder to its franchises. The company will recruit 120 workers during this process.

The company is also constructing 13 urban developments, all of which are in different phases of progress. Its developments are mainly located in Barcelona, as well as in towns in the Catalan capital’s metropolitan area, such as Badalona, Sabadell and Cornellà.

Recovery

The firm has enjoyed a progressive recovery since 2009, when the current Director General, Luis Pérez, acquired the Donpiso brand for €1 million.

The company, which was owned by Ferrovial until 2006 and by Habitat for the next three years, had a network of almost 400 offices across the Spanish market before the crisis hit.

Original story: Expansión (by E. Galián)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Don Piso Plans To Open 30+ New Branches In 2016

29 December 2015 – Cinco Días

The real estate company Don Piso plans to open around 34 new offices in Spain in 2016, of which 22 will be franchises, according to a statement made by the company yesterday.

Don Piso’s agency network will open four new offices, all operating under franchise agreements, before the end of the year, taking its total number of offices to 60, which represents growth of 27% with respect to 2014 (…).

Two of the four new offices will be opened in Madrid, with new offices also opening in the cities of Menorca and Salamanca, according to a statement issued by the real estate company, which is headquartered in Barcelona.

The chain currently has 18 owned offices and the forecast for 2016 involves expanding that number to 30. Moreover, in terms of its franchises, the company expects to increase the number from 38 to 60 by the end of next year.

Growth plans

These plans for growth, together with the fact that the Don Piso network has not closed down any owned or franchise offices in the last five years, according to the company, means that its managers are certain that the franchise arrangement is currently the preferred business model in the sector.

“As a result of the strong performance shown by the consolidated data for the real estate market, we think that now is a good time to invest in the sector through real estate franchises, as a highly profitable model in the short and medium term”, says Emiliano Bermúdez, Assistant Director General of Don Piso and head of brand growth.

Created in 1984, the company currently has a significant network of offices in the country’s main cities and a turnover that has enabled it to act as the intermediary on property sales worth more than €500 million in the last year. The company provides sales, rental and renovation services and employs 296 people.

Survivor of the property crisis

Don Piso is one of the survivors of the property crisis. It was created in Barcelona in 1984, as a network of intermediary agencies for the sale of properties. During the boom years, specifically in 2001, its owners sold the company to Ferrovial. Five years later, the company changed hands once again, when it was acquired by Habitat Promociones.

In the midst of the real estate crisis, in 2010, the former founders of the company, led by Luis Pérez Fernández, former Director General of Don Piso, submitted the highest offer in an auction process for the company, organised by the commercial court of Barcelona. The chain, which closed 2008 with losses of €42 million, reduced its network to 60 agencies after implementing a series of cutbacks.

Original story: Cinco Días

Transltion: Carmel Drake