Beerwah independent switches colours to claim Superbrand status

Media release - 14th September, 2015

Superbrand Raine & Horne has opened a new office in Beerwah, a rural town in the hinterland of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Led by Rod Bowden and Yara Bernardes, Raine & Horne Beerwah will offer leading sales and property management services in Beerwah, and nearby suburbs such as Mooloolah, Landsborough, Peachester, and Glass House Mountains.

Ms Bernardes and Mr Bowden, who purchased prominent independent, Laurie Evans Real Estate, in January 2014, decided to change colours to gain access to Raine & Horne’s strong branding, customer focus and family business culture.

“We bought the agency, which has a substantial presence in the area, from Laurie Evans. But my name is not Laurie Evans, neither is Yara’s and now that we are getting known in the local community it didn't make sense to continue to trade under that name. We searched for an alternative and came across the Raine & Horne Superbrand,” said Mr Bowden.

Raine & Horne’s customer focus and family culture was a significant lure for Mr Bowden and Ms Bernardes.

“As a family business, we like the fact that Raine & Horne has been owned by the same family since it launched,” said Mr Bowden, who held senior positions with Brisbane City Council and Gladstone Regional Council prior to starting his career in real estate.

“It’s a good cultural fit for us as we’re a family-run business yet despite its proud history, Raine & Horne is not anchored to the past.

“We search for alliances with forward-thinking organisations that are continuously evolving and developing, have the customer at the forefront of what they do, and strive to be the best in their field. Our view is Raine & Horne is at the cutting edge and is a leader in the industry.”

Mr Bowden also believes a forward-thinking and people-first approach is the key to real estate success.

“Our business is constantly changing – if you don’t embrace change and meet the challenge you will quickly become irrelevant.

“Raine & Horne, led by Angus Raine, has recognised the importance of this and has engaged the best people, and embraced best practice technologies and training to be industry leaders."

Raine & Horne is currently negotiating company-wide deals with suppliers in relation to cloud computing, new CRM software, and other technology systems.

“We’ve negotiated these deals, along with bundled training and data access, and this is generating generous savings for our 300-strong office network,” said Raine & Horne Executive Chairman, Angus Raine.

“Some of the technology bundling and packages that are being rolled out to the Raine & Horne offices are excellent and go hand-in-hand with the group’s commitment to continuous business improvement.”

–ENDS–

For further media information contact:

Andrew Harrington, National Communications Manager, Raine & Horne, on 02 9258 5400