A ground-breaking (and possibly business-model-shattering) new property portal is set to make its digital debut in Manchester later this month.
Here the man behind Luvthecity.com, Julian Bovis, tells How-Do how he and his team aim to corner the urban residential market across the country and set up home in 10 other cities in the space of just one year.
The big idea
Bovis: sights set on urban domination
Bovis, a newspaper man by trade and tradition, is clearly ambitious.
Talking about his latest project words cascade constantly out of him with a passion that it's difficult not to get carried along with (unless you're a hack trying to note them down of course, then it's impossible not to be swamped).
One question leads to ten answers, all infused with the optimism of a man who quite clearly thinks - 'this is it, this is the big idea'.
The big one for Bovis is Luvthecity.com.
It's a residential property website that focuses on individual cities - Manchester, to be closely followed by Leeds, Liverpool and then London - where it's free to list properties, for rental or sale, and free for the user to access them.
It's free to list for either private or commercial sellers, there's reams of information promised for users and, as far as we can see, there's no catch for anyone.
(Except for Bovis and co perhaps - that being 'how do we make any money on this'? But more of that a bit later.)
The excitment is building(s)
He and his trusted team - four full time, with an extra legion of advisers and suppliers - launch the site on 21 September.
It's a day that you sense he feels is long overdue.
"We had originally planned to launch the site in April, but decided to hold off as we felt there'd be more optimism in the market after summer.
"And we were right," he opines with some satisfaction.
When Luvthecity finally sees the light of Manchester monitors later this month it will be, unlike many of its clients' sites in the city, fully developed and ready to move into.
How the search facility will look
The 18 months work that Bovis talks of has been focused on visiting every one of Manchester's 220 apartment blocks to collect data, take pictures and then compile write-ups of each individual development.
"It's almost an upside down launch," he notes, "in the sense that it'll hit the ground with a lot of information - very data heavy and ready as a real resource for the city."
This resource won't just be words and pictures about the buildings that now jostle for position on the city's skyline, but also about the nearest place you can get a pint (milk or beer), what sort of amenities are available in the area and exactly what - thanks to embedded Google Street Maps in every advert - each of those areas actually looks like.
So what's the asking price?
It's a huge project for this privately-owned concern - mindbogglingly so, when you consider the speed the team hopes to roll the model out at - so how do they plan to recoup the undisclosed dollars they must have lavished on it all?
"Well," Bovis offers, slowing down the pace for an uncharacteristic pause, "we don't really have a great commercial strategy as yet."
Er, excuse me?
"We're looking into developing that now," he admits with a candour that catches How-Do momentarily off-guard, before stressing; "we really want to corner the market first and then we'll focus on that."
Bovis: focused on the market
A few further sentences reveals that Bovis is most probably either being cagey or humble with his desire to underplay the commercial potential for this residential concept.
He speaks of his desire to make it "free for everyone" before letting the altruistic overtones slip a little as he describes how listings can be optimised with video uploads and other flash features for £9.99 for a two month ad.
However, the Manna that Bovis and his disciples are surely hoping to feast on looks set to be found in the realm of 'allied services'.
He talks openly about his admiration for the Manchester Confidential business model ("they've done a great job and have the market sewn up") and suggests that Luvthecity could follow a similar route whereby those moving to a new city use it as a resource for finding out about, for example, gyms, taxi companies, barbers and the like.
It seems that it could be these companies, rather than those in the property market, that could help build the financial foundation for Luvthecity as it looks to construct a presence in urban markets across the UK.
Stay tuned to find out more about these blueprints in the near future.
Leeds is next up in November for the site, before the migration gathers pace in the early part of 2010.
Not even the recession can dampen Bovis' burning ambition for all things Luvthecity.
"If anything its worked very well for us," he concludes, in initially puzzling fashion.
"Agents and developers have been cutting back on advertising budgets as the recession bites, so what better time to launch a concept where they can market their properties absolutely free?
"It's now a question of getting our name out to them and starting the PR ball rolling."
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