‘A year of surprise’: Barry Plant’s breakthrough moment in 2025

She said the whirlwind of surprises began early in the year, with the brand gaining recognition by winning the REB Major Network of the Year award in February.

“Literally, I couldn't believe it, it gave me such a humble rush, a lot of energy and renewed enthusiasm for the year ahead,” Pennell told REB.

“We had made many changes to the value offering in the business over the previous two years, and 2025 became the year when the transformation journey truly hit the road, driving growth and momentum.”

While Barry Plant innovated throughout 2025, Pennell said the most impactful novelty was the formation of a CEO advisory group to foster collaboration and align strategy with agents on the front lines.

Over the last 12 months, before each board meeting, Pennell said the CEO advisory group held a three-hour session, serving as a dynamic think tank where ideas were debated and strategies tested, helping the board make informed decisions on resource allocation.

“That collaborative approach informed a lot of my decisions this year; it’s powerful.”

“It's probably the biggest difference in our group compared to my previous life; here our director group is extremely aligned with both the franchisor and the board, and I feel like we're moving very much together as a pack.”

In addition, the network introduced an office financial benchmarking project to help business owners measure performance against peers, shifting focus from day-to-day sales to leadership and management.

It also launched Rebot for data cleansing and propensity modelling, making prospecting more effective and driving healthy growth that began to build momentum throughout the year.

“And obviously, we had some really great recruits coming into the network,” Pennell said.

For all their innovation, the network also scored REB’s first Innovator of the Year, Major Network Awards, as well as a global design award for the brand refresh.

Pennell said 2025 had been a whirlwind year for the network, with one major development following another.

“It really is, and we're gathering even more speed, but we've finished the year with a number of new initiatives ready to start early next year.”

“So we will start 2026 with a new structure with more resources, more quality people to really double down on this momentum that's building, more tech, more innovation.”

Growth through collaboration

According to Pennell, most of Barry Plant's success can be attributed to its collaborative environment, where every employee has ideas and a voice to express them.

She said that the old-school model, in which a single leader in a “high tower” makes every decision, is neither effective nor sustainable and has become unattractive to most people in the workplace.

“The more we can lose the ego around our ideas, the more we come up with the best possible outcome.”

“When more than one person is looking at something, and leaders listen to other people's opinions, you absolutely get the best outcome.”

Pennell said that for Barry Plant, maintaining a positive culture and environment remains crucial, as knowledge cannot land in a non-receptive setting, with alignment and trust fostered through leadership catch-ups and the annual conference.

“I'm extremely open and prefer to operate authentically. I don't pull any punches. I don't think I'm any better than the next person. And I think being really upfront about that sets the tone for conversations going forward.”

“Building trust between the parties, whether it's me with a director or a director with another director, ensuring that we have super strong relationships at all levels has been the top priority.”

To ensure trust is carried across all 69 offices, Pennell said that Barry Plant has the largest in-state support team of any group in Victoria, with 25 staff locally and additional support overseas, many of whom are network-facing and regularly visit their franchisee.

She said the first key to building human relationships was to ensure the corporate team knows the people, understands their challenges, and stays connected to the network they serve.

To deepen relationships further, the network operates a deep event calendar, including regular catch-ups with its associates and a study tour every year with a group of directors, visiting other businesses and gathering ideas.

“If we've got solid relationships, the best ideas are panel beaten in an open forum. It's not that you've got to always bring them in from outside.”

“You almost become your own creative bubble, like building a terrarium. It becomes a self-fulfilling ecosystem.”

Pennell said the strength of Barry Plant’s culture was reflected in the network’s stability, with zero turnover in the HQ team in 2025, marking a clear sign that people want to stay.

“We actually had positive turnover; one of the girls who had left the corporate team to go to a competing brand actually came back!”

“Which showed the quality of the culture we are trying to foster here,” she said.

What’s coming up for 2026

Barry Plant heads into 2026 with the excitement of being a finalist again for REB’s Network of the Year, though Pennell stresses gratitude and humility, acknowledging the competition is broader this year.

“We don't ever count our chickens; we are always grateful when we receive this sort of recognition in terms of being a finalist, but we certainly will be there on the night ready to celebrate whoever wins.”

The network will also continue its expansion through a technology initiative with a new platform focused on customer experience, prioritising how clients interact with the network.

“We are putting our eggs in the customer experience basket, which I'm really looking forward to,” Pennell said.

“We will also have a marketing initiative coming out in the first quarter next year, which is another zig when everyone's zagging.”

Additionally, several new specialists will join the headquarters team at the start of the year, bringing skills to strengthen operations and support the network in delivering greater value and growth.

The network will also continue to build its pipeline of franchisees as opportunities arise, focusing on building a strong, values-driven business that attracts the right people organically rather than through incentives.

“I love hearing from people outside our group, even if they just want to have a chat, and sometimes those conversations work out as being the right thing for both parties, and sometimes they don't.”

“There's something, every group has its own feel and ego and culture, and I get very excited about sharing ours.”

“The Barry Plant crew has historically been built organically, and I don't doubt that will continue to happen.”

While currently focused on Victoria, the brand said it remains open to future opportunities elsewhere, staying true to its philosophy of attracting people who genuinely resonate with the network.

Pennell said she is excited for 2026, with momentum already building, allowing the business to grow steadily without rushing.

“We’ve done the hard yards, now the fun really begins. I cannot wait. I simply can't wait.”

“I feel like next year is the year where we don't have to run so fast. We're already rolling now, the momentum's there, we're not pushing so hard.”

“It's now starting to roll, and it's going to be an amazing year, I don't doubt it,” Pennell concluded.