Ken Waller - Connells

Having spent 29 happy years helping grow the UK’s second largest estate agency group to its current heights, Ken Waller has thrown in the towel as chief executive of Connells Residential to dedicate his time to achieving some goals of his own.

A door-to-door salesman helped Ken Waller achieve his dream of becoming a well-respected leader of Connells estate agency.

Waller was approached by the man while working as a negotiator at Connells’ Wood Hill branch in Northampton, which he joined in 1979, and asked whether he would like to become more successful. Waller says: “Well, of course I did, so he talked to me about personal leadership. We had a discussion and then I bought a career development programme from him, for £400 plus VAT. “It helped crystalise my future.”

Waller says the programme encouraged him to identify his dreams for success and develop a programme to help convert these into achievable goals. Waller certainly got his money’s worth – he was appointed chief executive of Connells Residential in 2004, thus achieving his dream of becoming a well-respected leader within the group. That said, with his obvious passion and dedication to his career and to Connells – despite being just days away from his departure when being interviewed – it seems unlikely that Waller would not have achieved his rise through the group’s ranks without the input of a leadership guru. Waller decided upon estate agency as a career after a harrowing experience as a first-time buyer. He says: “I bought my first house before joining Connells in 1979. The process was pretty awful. “I was nervous and wasn’t really sure what to do or what to expect, but was forced to find my own way - the service was not very good. I thought I could do it better, hence estate agency.”

Connells’ Wood Hill branch was not only underperforming, but also loss making when Waller joined. He says: “The senior partner at the time decided I should be manager of the branch and it went from being loss making to the group’s top performing branch where we completed 600 contracts in one year.” Waller says new homes sales underpinned the branch’s success, as well as the strength of his team. He adds that it was during his time at Wood Hill that he experienced one of the highlights of his career, when he won 203 instructions in one month – a contrast to the volumes agents are suffering now. Waller was promoted to branch partner in 1983 and given responsibility for running the North, Peterborough and Lincolnshire. He was also tasked with helping integrate three acquisitions that Connells made in 1987 – Wilson and Partners, Shakespeare, McTurk and Graham, and Norman Wright & Hodgkinson. Waller says: “I was involved in helping the acquisitions reach their full potential.” His remit was further expanded in 1991 when Connells acquired 100 branches from Prudential - he was tasked with managing the 35 branches across the Northern region.

During this time Connells also changed ownership - it was acquired by Scottish Widows in 1990, having floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1984. Prior to this, the business was owned by Constantine Holdings. Waller says: “The bad times came in the property market in 1989. Business was pretty tough, then Scottish Widows acquired 100% of us and helped us acquire the branches from Prudential. “I had to drive new efficiencies and motivate people.” Waller recalls that the market did not recover He adds: “Just look at his achievements – he has turned an estate agency into a large and diverse property services group, which generated £98m in pre-tax profit last year.”

In addition to its residential business, Connells’ services now include mortgages, conveyancing, land and planning, survey and valuation, asset management, relocation, new homes, lettings and overseas property. Waller says that the group avoids politics at all costs, which perhaps explains the absence of regret in his description of the pinnacle of his career, as head of Connells’ residential estate agency business. But then, Waller has little to regret in view of the agency’s financial performance – it contributed £17m of the group’s £98m pre-tax profit last year – up from £6m in his first year in role - which has no doubt been fuelled by his dedication and unquestionable belief in the power and value of the Connells brand and its potential. He says: “I feel very lucky that I found Connells early in life and at age 24, and that I’ve been able to grow not only my career, but many others’, too. “In management, you have a responsibility for the livelihood of those who report into you. You have got to find a way of helping them achieve their full potential and then they will stay with you. Leadership is about integrity, which is very important.” Waller has spent the last phase of his tenure addressing the business’ cost base. He says: “We started looking at costs last May, when we realized that there was going to be a tough time in the market ahead. Waller says he has closed six branches within the residential agency over the last six months, but insists that this number would have been far higher has the group taken action any later. He explains: “We took action last year and we have reaped the benefits of doing so, and are generating profit. “Natural wastage has reduced our head count – it did not happen over night. People decided to leave and we haven’t replaced them.”

He adds that there is also a group-wide pledge to reduce its advertising budget.

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