It’s been a spectacular summer for estate agency board erection and maintenance franchise Countrywide Signs. After reporting an 85% annual leap in national account jobs passed to franchisees in May and June, the season’s celebrations have continued with three new franchise owners joining the nationwide network on 1 August.

Liam Smyth launched his new business in Slough at the same time as Eddie Robertson in Fife and Gary Slevin, who has taken on a resale franchise covering Banbury and surrounding areas.

Liam becomes one of the youngest franchisees in the network. At just 25 years old, the former retail manager has already demonstrated a decidedly mature outlook when it comes to his business.

“As part of my research, I rang 150 estate agents and asked them how their current service was,” he says. “The average score was six out of 10, so I knew there was a lot of room for improvement! They already knew the brand and were pleased to hear Countrywide is coming to the area.”

Previously looking after the local online operation for a major supermarket, Liam says there’s a natural fit with his new business. “It’s all about customer service, a multi-van business, managing people. I know I can serve customers to the highest of standards, I’ve been doing it for the last seven years, so I know I can take that and succeed in this sector.

“That’s the stage I want to get to, expanding into more vans and bringing in a team. The Countrywide model is designed for me to do just that.”

Countrywide Signs director, Martin Attwood QFP, said: “This is the perfect way to cap what’s been a special summer. It’s great to welcome three ambitious new faces to the network and we look forward to supporting them in making a big success of their new ventures.”