Agencies & People
News covering the businesses, activities, people and personalities in estate agency and letting agency and wider residential property industry.
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Strutt & Parker agents face 85mph winds
Strutt & Parker agents may be known for their upmarket house sales and lettings but such prime concerns were set aside recently by a group of employees to raise money for the Sebastian Coe Charitable Foundation, part of the company’s efforts this year to garner £200,000 for charities who support the Francis Crick Institute. It specialises in biomedical research. An intrepid group from the company completed the Three Peaks Challenge, which for non-walkers means climbing three of the highest peaks in the UK in under 24 hours including travel time. These are Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in Cumbria and Snowdon in Wales. The fund raisers (pictured above, left to right) included James Gow (head of house sales in Kensington ), Dominic Price (residential development), Lucy Ball (public relations manager), William Sensecall (graduate surveyor ) and Stephanie Nash (head of Fulham lettings). They set off on a Friday morning at 5.45am from Hammersmith for Ben Nevis where they faced driving rain, 85-mile-an-hour winds and fog for their first climb, aided by two mountain guides. Setting off at 6.38pm they reached the summit at 11pm, returning to the bus at 1am and then setting off for Scafell Pike. They arrived there at 7.30am and, says Lucy Ball,…
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Suzy Lamplugh: 30 years on… live life safe
Suzy Lamplugh: 30 years on there are still serious concerns about personal safety in the property sector, says Trust. 30 years ago a young estate agent called Suzy Lamplugh disappeared while showing a client around a house in Fulham. No trace of her has ever been found. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust was subsequently founded by her parents Diana and Paul following and since then it has pioneered personal safety as a life skill and a public policy priority. National Personal Safety Day, run by the charity, is an annual event aimed at highlighting some of the simple, practical solutions that everyone can use to help minimise personal safety risks. It’s about helping people live safer, more confident lives. New research To mark the 30th anniversary of Suzy’s disappearance the trust has carried out research into personal safety issues within the housing sector and is proposing that estate agencies sign up to ‘Suzy’s Code for Personal Safety’ to ensure that their employees are as ‘Safe As Houses’ while at work. According to the English Housing Survey 2014-15, there are 22.5million households in England. Almost everyone will visit a prospective property at some point in their lifetime. Suzy Lamplugh Trust is concerned…
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What’s it like to be a Purplebricks ‘property expert’?
James Humphries-Stone, 29 joined Purplebricks two-and-a-half years ago What did you do before joining Purplebricks? I have been an estate agent since leaving school; I always wanted to be one and knew which path I wanted to follow since I was young and the only thing that held me back after leaving school was not having a driving a licence. As soon as I passed my driving test I got a junior negotiator role in a Basingstoke agency – it’s where I live – and then at 23 I became a branch manager of a leading independent in the town, and then two and half years ago I met Kenny Bruce (co-founder and sales director of Purplebricks). The main reason for my move from the high street to Purplebricks was that I had noticed the way in which people were transacting with the high street. I’d seen a shift in the way people were contacting agents more online instead of coming into branches. So for me, it was all being a part of that change. What do you estate agent mates think of you joining Purplebricks? It’s a mixed bag. When I joined a lot of them thought I was…
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SDL Group acquires Humphreys of Chester
SDL Group, one of the UK’s fastest-growing independent property groups, has today announced its third business acquisition in 12 months. Humphreys of Chester, one of the most respected estate agencies in the region, has been acquired by the SDL Group for an undisclosed amount. Humphreys is the recipient of various awards for estate agency and auctions. The deal means that the Humphreys business will expand across the North West region offering its complete property service from sales and exclusive homes to lettings, property management and auctions. It will report into Rob Clifford, SDL’s estate agency Chief Executive. Following the acquisition, the Chester office on Lower Bridge Street will also become a regional hub for hundreds of SDL Group’s Private Rental Sector (PRS) build-to-rent properties while its auction business will join the SDL Auctions network – the UK’s largest auction network outside of London. Paul Gratton, CEO of the SDL Group, said, “Humphreys of Chester is a leading agent in the North West property market and is hugely respected so I’m delighted to welcome them to the SDL Group. “Their areas of expertise, particularly in auctions, estate agency and lettings, perfectly complement our own portfolio of property services and our aim through this…
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Phil and Kirstie favourites to join Great British Bake Off
Speculation is growing that the UK’s most famous property personalities Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer stand a good chance of being the next presenters of BBC flagship programme The Great British Bake Off. After Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc announced they were to leave the show, along with Mary Berry, the hunt has been on for a new duo to front the programme. But although stars such as Jennifer Saunders, Davina McColl, Clare Balding, Geri Halliwell and Masterchef winner Lisa Faulkner have been in the frame, Kirstie and Spencer are now one of the betting favourites, placed third most likely at 7-1 by Betway. On Saturday it was revealed by Channel 4 that Phil and Kirstie, who are still contracted to the channel and continue to make Location, Location, Location and other series, had met the channel’s bosses to discuss a potential move from property to property tea. The duo are reported to have told bosses they are the “perfect fit” and a Channel 4 spokesperson told the Daily Mirror that “they poke fun at each other and are not afraid to go along with innuendos [and] they can match, if not better, Mel and Sue”. Other advantages of Phil…
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Is latest Foxtons branch opening such a bright idea?
The 64th Foxtons branch opening in London and the home counties is about to happen, featuring its signature café-style layout, design and green frontage. But it’s not been plain sailing for the agent, which is busy readying the site for its inaugural opening; window displays were still empty and builders appeared to be still working on the site when The Negotiator paid a visit. Missing from the front is any of the signature illuminated signage that most Foxtons are famous for, after planners turned down the company’s original plans for the site (see below) although change of use was eventually granted. Lambeth’s Assistant Director of Planning & Development David Joyce said in May this year that the advertisement (as he calls the illuminated sign) would be an “unduly dominant feature in the streetscene” and “detrimental to visual amenity” which is possibly his convoluted way of say “too garish.” He also said the signage, which in the plans was fairly small by Foxtons’ standards, was “unlikely to preserve, protect or enhance the locally listed buildings and the neighbouring Albert Embankment Conservation Area.” The branch is also being created within what was the headquarters of homelessness charity The Big Issue, whose magazine sellers…
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Why’s Duncan Bannatyne doing property viewings?
Duncan Bannatyne is known for his laconic Glasgwegian drawl, scathing opinions of entrepreneurs on TV’s Dragon’s Den and his fitness empire, but not for being an estate agent. But that’s all about to change. The 67-year-old recently ‘retired’ to Portugal with his new partner and future third wife, 36-year-old Nigora Whitehorn. But it would appear lounging around his luxury villa isn’t enough for the crotchety workaholic and he’s now launched a property business on the Algarve. Bannatyne’s buying up unfinished developments stranded by the recent and deep recession in Portugal, upgrading them into luxury villas and selling them on via overseas property firm Ideal Homes Portugal. His first project, within the inland town of Almancil half way between Vilamoura and Quinta Do Lago, is a gated community of five villa each selling for €475,000. Bannatyne is going to get his hands dirty marketing the development, it would seem; Chris White, owner of Ideal Homes Portugal, says anyone viewing the properties will be conveyed around their marble-clad floors by Bannatyne in person. “The recovery in the property market in southern Spain has been rapid and sustained. The effect is spreading to Portugal and the Algarve is at the beginning of a remarkable…
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STRUTT AND PARKER SPLASHES THE COLOUR
Strutt & Parker’s new store in South Kensington has opened with a bang!
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SOTHEBY’S LAUNCHES IN BELGRAVIA
United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty has opened a new office in Belgravia, the ultimate prime central London location.
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LORD MAYOR LAUNCHES NEW BESLEY HILL BRANCH
The Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Jeff Lovell, performed the launch ceremony at Besley Hill Estate Agents’ Bishopston, Bristol, office.
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