Business savvy Reece Prewett and Champak Mehta have made the decision to leave very successful careers in the business world to purchase and own four Ray White offices in the Southern Corridor of Auckland. The four offices are located in Papakura, Pukekohe, Waiuku and Tuakau.
Reece and Champak will take on the agency businesses as non-selling Principals, with a focus on growth in market share along the Southern Corridor. Reece said the advantage of this will be that their salespeople won’t be competing with them, and they can focus on business growth. The pair have never sold a house before and are looking forward to taking on the excitement of the real estate world.
“We both have very strong corporate and business development backgrounds,” said Reece, adding that after studying chemical engineering he took a big risk in leaving his job of 29 years in the dairy industry to purchase the large agency business in an area with huge growth potential.
“I’m taking a risk and backing myself in a different business,” he said. “Real estate is perfect for us because it plays to our strengths of team building and business growth.
Champak is also making a significant career change. With a science degree, an economics degree and an MBA under his belt, he worked in strategy, business development and general management in NZ, the USA & Singapore over a 9 year career with Fonterra. Most recently, he was the CEO of Potatoes NZ Inc., which represents the entire value chain of the NZ potato industry.
“We see one of our major competitive advantages as being able to come in and hit the ground running with fresh eyes. By not being constrained by the traditional way of approaching things, we work with our team to offer a fresh perspective to the marketplace.” said Champak.
According to Reece, the pair will relish being the underdogs in the South Auckland real estate market. “We are very excited about the opportunities in Auckland. The Southern Corridor is a huge growth area, and we are looking forward to taking market share from our competitors.” he said.
Their strategy will heavily involve integration with Loan Market and the property management arm of the business and a heavy recruitment drive – with approximately 40 staff employed across the business already and plans for this number to grow substantially.
Ray White New Zealand CEO, Carey Smith, said “Reece and Champak’s background in successfully growing and developing business in many different industries would be a key ingredient in their business growth and success along Auckland’s Southern Corridor.”
“The Real Estate Industry over the past period has aligned to higher standards of professionalism and this, in turn, has increased the expectation within the community of the role that real estate agents play in the property sale. Reece and Champak understand the dynamics of service to engage the customer at the highest level of satisfaction and this will be centric to their success.”
Media Inquiries:
Jamie Pericleous
Media Specialist, Ray White Group
+61 421 173 361
media@raywhite.com