Veyo: growing interest

The claim last week by conveyancing portal Veyo that “just under a half of conveyancing firms in England and Wales have now registered” with it means simply that they have provided basic contact details to keep up-to-date with developments, Legal Futures has established.

Veyo, a joint venture between the Law Society and Mastek, said in a press release that “since the pricing was recently announced, there has been a substantial increase in sales enquiries, with 47% of conveyancing firms, ranging from volume conveyancers to sole practitioners, submitting their order to benefit from the early adopter scheme”.

The website offers a simple sign-up form “to keep up with the latest developments” and a spokeswoman confirmed to Legal Futures that 1,880 firms have filled this out. This was out of a total of 4,000 conveyancing practices – a figure she said was provided by the Law Society and referred to firms that solely do conveyancing.

Land Registry data recently analysed by Search Acumen put the total number of ‘active’ conveyancing firms in 2014 at 5,871.

She said that though some firms have “committed” to using Veyo – the number of which will be revealed soon – the company was not saying that all 1,880 have done so. But by registering on the site, they have “actively engaged with us”, she said.

The success of Veyo will ultimately depend on widespread take-up.

Veyo is charging £20 per transaction, plus an annual administration charge of £50 per user. “Solicitors or licensed conveyancers that register with Veyo now will benefit from preferential rates, as well as ensure they are up and running as soon as the product comes to market,” it said.

Commercial director Stefanie van den Haak added: “The number of enquiries since the pricing was announced has been phenomenal but we are not complacent. We know we are offering something that is unique and we need to continue to promote our USPs. We are keen that conveyancers see for themselves that there is nothing comparable in the market.”