Agency cuts jobs as crunch bites

Agency chiefs say this is the worst downturn in the last 20 years

Wales' largest estate agents Peter Alan says it is to reduce its workforce by an eighth as it struggles to remain viable through the credit crunch.

Twenty five jobs are being axed and two of its 25 branches, in Aberdare and Carmarthen, will close by Christmas.

The agency said there will be 31 redundancies in all, but six jobs will be created in Merthyr and Llanelli.

Peter Griffiths of the agency's parent company, the Principality, said this could be their "most severe" downturn.

Staff were told about the cutbacks at a meeting in Cardiff on Thursday.

Mr Griffiths, chief executive of the Principality Building Society, said they had experienced downturns in the 20 years they have been in partnership with Peter Alan, in particular in the early 1990s.

People want to buy, are in a financial position to buy, but can't get a mortgage Peter Griffiths, Principality

But he said this latest crisis could be the worse so far.

"Whilst we have attempted to keep redundancies to the absolute minimum, we appreciate that, on an individual level, even one person losing their job is a major crisis.

"We will be working closely with the people affected, to retrain and relocate where possible."

Mr Griffiths said the company hoped the majority of the losses could be made through voluntary redundancy and natural wastage, although he said because of the time frame, some compulsory redundancies were likely.

The losses are at all levels within the group, and come on the back of similar cuts six months ago.

But Mr Griffiths said he was hopeful that the property market is nearing its bottom.

Cash injection

"The frustrating thing for Peter Alan staff is that they are experiencing high levels of interest from the public.

"People want to buy, are in a financial position to buy, but can't get a mortgage."

However, he said with the government's cash injection into the banking sector, they were beginning to see a rise in lending.

Some lenders were once again offering 90% mortgages, he said, and there were suggestions that 95% deals could reappear by the middle of next year.

He said if that translates into an increase in house sales, Peter Alan will be in a position "to act quickly and expand again".