Heavyweight enters real estate market

Major rebranding which has seen two big name brands merge

Des Besanko principal and director of Raine and Horne Springfield. Picture: David Nielsen

IPSWICH has a new heavyweight player in the property market place with the sign of prestige national brand Raine & Horne going up on three outlets.

Prominent realtor Des Besanko has announced a major rebranding which has seen two of Ipswich's real estate names join under one collective brand.

Mr Besanko, who has worked in the property industry for 20 years, has merged Thornton Real Estate and two local LJ Hooker offices, rebranding under Raine & Horne.

He said the major marketing announcement signified a greater focus on the rapidly growing Ipswich real estate market.

"I have always had Ipswich on my radar and have always liked the area because of its community feel," he said.

"I started in Ipswich in 2006. Even then you could see the whole Western Corridor had a huge potential for growth and that Ipswich was at the forefront."

Mr Besanko now operates Raine & Horne branches in Ipswich, Springfield, Goodna and Brisbane Central as well as multiple franchises in the Mackay region.

"I felt that as my business was growing I needed to align myself with a brand that was closer to my core business values," he said.

"Raine & Horne is family owned and their focus is about the people who work for me and supporting those people to deliver good customer service."

The new Raine & Horne offices will deliver the 133-year-old family owned and operated firm's unique sales and property management services to residents in the wider Ipswich region.

"Des knows the Brisbane property market like the back of his hand, and he is a welcome addition to Raine & Horne," executive chairman of the group Angus Raine said.

"His team will hit the ground running as they make the switch to the charcoal and gold."

Originally from Adelaide, Mr Besanko said it was the close-knit community feel of Ipswich that first attracted him to the region.

"I want to create a business where people love coming to work and love finding homes for people," he said.

"We decided early that the support of a company that was focused on meeting the needs of our clients was paramount. We also needed the backing of cutting edge technology and IT systems. Raine & Horne stood out in this regard."

The agent, who splits his time living between Mackay and Brisbane, said there would be no staff changes as part of the merge.

"All staff will continue their work, we will just be changing colours," he said.

"In fact we have already had to employ a couple more staff in some of offices. I'm hopeful the merge will promote jobs and growth."

Originally published as Heavyweight enters real estate market