X-PRESS LEGAL SERVICES
X-Press Legal Services, the specialist property search franchise, is one of the fastest expanding franchises in the UK. The service they offer is a vital component of the property buying process, as they provide all types of searches and reports to solicitors, professional conveyancers and dedicated HIP pack providers.

Research through local authority records' offices determines key issues affecting property purchase, such as rights of way, land charges, planning applications, urban renewal schemes, road-building programmes and so on.

The business was set up in 2000 by Christian Lister and grew rapidly as X-Press established an enviable reputation for providing comprehensive and reliable reports on time and cost-effectively.

Soon, other members of the Lister family became involved, including Christian's mum, Lynne Lister, former managing editor of Business Franchise Magazine for 10 years.

As the orders rolled in, more people were recruited to cope with the constantly growing workload, with senior people appointed to fill key roles. More investment was made in a bespoke IT system with refinements to meet individual requirements of the business and to facilitate the introduction of new services. Other aspects of the operation were streamlined with a view to yet more expansion.

The business continued to enjoy rapid growth and the Lister family recognised its huge potential. Early in 2005, the X-Press Board took a decision to grow X-Press as a franchise. It was launched later the same year, at the Birmingham franchise exhibition, with the cautious aim of appointing eight franchisees in the first year.

However, within six months of the launch, six franchisees had been recruited, trained and were trading. A further ten quickly followed. Today, the network is 43-strong, with more recruits due for training and others at an advanced stage of negotiation.

Lynne Lister commented: "Our network has grown quickly and much faster than we had expected at the beginning. Prospective franchisees recognise that we provide an essential service, for which there will always be a demand, even more so with the introduction of Home Information Packs. We made the decision not to become a HIP provider but to concentrate on what we're good at, which is providing searches, a small but essential component of a Home Information Pack." The staged introduction of HIPs has created a wealth of new opportunities for the company, which set up a separate Corporate Division in 2007 to handle searches on behalf of HIP pack providers.

New Corporate Division Manager, Andrew Savage, commented: “The demand for all types of searches and reports that HIPs has created has had a big impact on the development of our business and brought a wealth of new opportunities for our franchisees. In essence, we act as a hub to receive enquiries for searches which are then allocated to franchisees across the network.”

An X-Press franchise can be run from home, at least initially, which keeps overheads low in the early days. "This also has the advantage of giving people optimum flexibility to manage their time, which is especially important to women who want to work for themselves yet still meet family and domestic commitments," Lynne explained.

X-Press franchisees come from all walks of life and around half of them are women. A hugely diverse group of highly qualified and very experienced people from many different disciplines has been attracted to the X-Press network, wanting to be their own boss for a range of reasons.

To date there are two solicitors, business professionals from banking, IT and management, a prison education service teacher, an optician, a professional dancer who became an undertaker, hotelier, drugs intelligence officer, international sales manager and a nurse, a former sailor and two firemen.

As managing editor of Business Franchise Magazine, Lynne's experience of franchising has been invaluable in many areas, particularly training and support for franchisees. She comments: “We offer a very comprehensive training and support programme, including our own bespoke software system and a custom-built PC. We also give an exceptional warranty, which makes provision for a replacement within hours if there is a serious fault.”

X-Press has opportunities across the UK and is looking for dynamic new franchisees to join the network. No previous experience of the property or legal sectors is required, since the thorough training provided covers all aspects of the business and equips franchisees to run their own small businesses.

You can find out more by calling Colin Simons or Dan Archer on 01925 577377 or visiting the website www.xpresslegal.co.uk.