In just 18 months, former bank manager John Magnone has rapidly scaled a thriving multi-unit mortgage broking business under the Aussie franchise banner.
John first became a mortgage broker, impressed by the superior digital platform at Lendi, and built a robust business. And when Lendi merged with Aussie he could see the opportunity for aggressive, scalable growth.
“Franchising made sense to me and it gave me the confidence to have a crack at the business,” John says.
He jumped at the opportunity to buy the 10–year-old South Morang Aussie store, securing immediate cash flow via the store’s trail commissions to fuel investment from day one.
He saw plenty of potential in the high-growth residential corridor north of Melbourne
“It’s a tremendous opportunity with lots of young families,” he says.
A clear strategy for growth
John had a clear strategy to lift performance by leaning into Aussie’s model, focusing for the first 12 months on growth aspects he could control.
He set a task of leveraging quick and easy wins, increasing leads by improving the store’s Google presence and marketing in the local area. John leveraged the store’s database and accessed the Aussie associate program, where a centralised teams re-engages leads on the store’s behalf.
“My early ambition was to generate enough leads from the existing and new database to support another broker. We did relatively well,” he says modestly.
And that success led in October to the acquisition of his second store and a larger portfolio of clients.
John purchased the Carlton business from Ray Zahra and Peter Febbo, who have been in business for over 20 years; the pair are continuing as store brokers to support the business ownership transition as they scale down towards retirement.
“We are trying to replicate what we’ve achieved with South Morang, but investing more heavily into Carlton,” John says.
His goal is to put on a broker in January 2026, and to grow the support and admin resources to fuel further expansion.
Carlton has varied local demographics – from renters to young investors to professionals – and a large health sector.
Enhancing efficiency through centralisation
It’s also the perfect place to harness the Aussie ‘Find Buy Own’ strategy which enables its franchisees to align with in-house conveyancing and buyers agent services and present a one-stop-shop option for clients.
“Carlton is one of the first to have a buyer’s agent on board, and we’re doubling down on the ‘Find Buy Own’ strategy. Employing an instore buyer’s agent gives us a point of difference.
We can leverage off the relationships they create with real estate agents,” John says.
As a new multi-unit owner, John is operating both stores as a single entity, enhancing efficiency through centralisation.
“Through Aussie’s ‘Platform Plus’ support model, we can leverage an off-shore program to help us with assessments, lodgements of files, and onshore associates.
“It allows us to be harmonious across two stores, enhancing our adaptability; all our processes are the same.”
It also includes pooling admin resources and giving the six staff the opportunity to work from either store on any day.
While Aussie’s broker network is distributed across multiple channels, there are distinct advantages to operating a physical store, John points out.
“When you’re going to a meeting, and trying to engage a new client, having a branch adds more credibility, its shows there is substantial investment in your business,” he says.
John also sees community engagement as a crucial element of his business and has sponsored the local basketball team in South Morang.
“You wouldn’t want to be in retail unless you can engage with community, because you need to have a local identity. It definitely helps with referrals,” he adds.
Creating a scalable asset
The Aussie model of course provides cutting-edge digital platforms, and continues to develop its technology.
“The group is heavily invested in AI, and that’s a significant path to travel. I believe it’s the next frontier and enables us to do more work that matters,” John says.
“There’s a lot of initiatives the group is working on, which is exciting. Aussie is an eco-system and we want to be a property group, a true one-stop-shop for everyone. The vision’s big, and we’re trying to lean into it,” he says.
“For us growth is very important. We have the brand, the system and tools to do this, and we believe in the strategy.”
Looking ahead, John is targeting the hiring of a new broker in January 2026. He also plans to expand support and admin resources.
He has tapped into the Aussie model’s capacity for scale, and is facing a bright future.
“Through store acquisitions we’ve been able to piggy back on the experience of other. It’s encouraging to know Aussie is supportive of growth, it has the levers to scale. It’s important this is a saleable asset – the goal is to have something significant,” John says.