Harcourts takes brand further afield

Harcourts, the country's largest real estate network, has taken its biggest steps abroad yet by expanding into China and Zambia.

The network all ready has 457 offices and close to 3500 sales people in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Indonesia and Singapore.

Both new ventures have been made by signing deals with local business interests.

In China, Harcourts International has formed a joint-venture company with a group of Chinese businessmen to set up offices in the nation's largest city, Shanghai.

Harcourts International executive director and co-owner, Paul Wright, said that after opening a central headquarters and four real estate offices, the firm would expand rapidly and aim for "hundreds" of outlets in China.

The deal was brokered by Chinese businessman Sean Zhao, who studied Harcourts as part of a Masters thesis on franchising he completed several years ago while studying in New Zealand at Lincoln University.

The African expansion has taken the form of a deal with Zambian real estate agent Gracier Ngaba, of GT Properties.

The deal allows Ngaba to set up a Harcourts-branded office in the Zambian capital Lusaka, and move his own staff there.

The business will handle residential property sales and property management, and may later be extended to include mortgage broking.

Other offices in Zambia and in Malawi and Botswana may follow.

Wright said the new agreements would help Harcourts achieve its aggressive growth targets and establish itself as a global and multi-cultural brand.

The Chinese deal had the potential to expose the company's brand to over a billion people and could also generate interest from that country in New Zealand property.

- © Fairfax NZ News