An agent specialising in foreign property has opened a high street outpost modelled on the traditional estate agency format, it has been reported.

Robin Barrasford told the Times that he had opened the first Barrasford and Bird store in Tavistock, Devon in order to revamp the way in which people purchase homes abroad.

"The big problem with my industry is that everyone buys a property over the phone or after falling in love with something while on holiday or at a property exhibition.

"They are often handing over a huge amount of money on the basis of a magazine advertisement and a conversation on the phone, whereas this way people have somewhere to walk into and meet someone face to face."

He told the paper he plans to expand the chain within the next three years and hopes to open 15 agencies on high streets across the country.

Currently, there is a great deal of change in the foreign property sector, with the Association of International Property Professionals recently highlighting the need for the industry to have a robust system of self-regulation in place.