The co-owners of a Henley estate agency have revealed how their business partnership began with a property valuation that turned into a love story, they tell The Neg.

Phil Booth (pictured) was carrying out a routine valuation on Emma Vanstone’s Albert Road home, but their relationship soon took a romantic turn, leading to both marriage and the launch of Philip Booth Esq three years later.

Vanstone, then a single mother with a marketing background, had no intention of entering the property industry when she first met Booth during the house viewing.

He looked very dashing.”

“He looked very dashing,” Vanstone said of their first encounter. Even so, Booth tells The Neg she was quite a ‘tough cookie’ during the sales process.

The couple then married at Phyllis Court in the same year they established their boutique agency, which specialises in properties across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

Booth has spent 36 years working in the property industry, starting as a trainee with Simmons and Lawrence in Wargrave in 1988.

“I learnt from Phil how to be the best at this job,” Vanstone says. “It’s incredible to watch him at work.”

hands-on role

Since her career change, Vanstone has become known for her hands-on staging and decluttering services. As she explains: “We’re not agents who slap on a price tag and cross our fingers.”

Their agency, Philip Booth Esq, typically handles properties priced between £1m and £2m, and has grown year-on-year, despite market volatility and the aftermath of the Liz Truss mini-budget.

The couple are also highly active in the local community, with Vanstone serving as a director of the Henley Business Partnership, which sponsors Henley Women’s Regatta.