EXCLUSIVE: Agent at the top of London’s prime market tells all

Last November United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty poached Claire Reynolds from rival Savills to take on the role of Managing Director at the luxury London estate agency.

Reynolds (main picture) is one of London’s most respected luxury real estate experts and spent 19 years at Savills, latterly as Co-Head of Prime Central London Residential.

With a proven track record of building businesses Reynolds has orchestrated transactions for some of the most coveted properties in Central London.

She explains to The Neg what hits the sweet spot for the luxury estate agency.

How would you categorise the bulk of property sales/lettings through UK Sotheby’s International Realty?

UK Sotheby’s International Realty (UKSIR) has built a reputation as the leading luxury global brand for selling and letting the most beautiful properties across Prime Central London. Offering a diverse portfolio, we specialise in the luxury end of the market, representing a myriad of architectural styles across London – from prestigious John Nash and Robert Adam trophy townhouses to modern developments, quaint mews houses and elegant mansion block conversions.

What would you say is the ideal property that you attract/sell? What hits the sweet spot?

Sotheby’s as a whole – including RM Sotheby’s and the auction house – is synonymous with selling luxury goods, and UKSIR is no different.

We typically attract beautiful or interesting homes, although our team are skilled in recognising the value in all types of wonderful properties. Many of the properties we sell are significant either in history or value, often both. We view these exceptional properties like a rare piece of art, and with each sale, the asset is passed to a new custodian.

We’re passionate about what we do and aspire to find buyers and tenants who will love the properties as much as the current owners do, while ensuring we achieve the best prices for our clients. Our extensive network across Sotheby’s International Realty, the auction house Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s enables us to find exactly the right buyers, both locally and internationally.

A lot of agents could only dream about selling/letting the properties featured on your website. Do you have a favourite transaction that you personally have been involved in? 

With a 19-year track record of sales under my belt, I have many cherished transactions, so it is hard to single out just one. However, I categorise my favourite transactions into two types of sales.

The first is when the sale involves an emotional journey for my clients. It is a very trusted relationship, and a real privilege to assist them during such a personal and pivotal moment in their lives.

The second is when it involves exceptional teamwork across our global network, showcasing to our clients the added value of having Sotheby’s International Realty on their side.

A recent example is a flat we sold in 20 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair. The seller was referred to us in London by a colleague in our Miami team. One of our London brokers managed the relationship with the client, and another broker from our Asia desk introduced the buyer.

Despite the property having been previously listed with multiple agents for a long period of time, we successfully found the right buyer almost immediately, thanks to the involvement from multiple teams across the world. This example is just one of many which perfectly highlights the significance of our unrivalled network and global reach, which enable us to achieve the results we do for our clients.

What is the company record for sales and lettings?

£50,000 per week for lettings and in excess of £100m in sales.

Who do UKSIR consider as their main competitor?

What is exciting about the journey we are on is that we are doing something very different to all other agencies in the market. We are the only agency in the UK with both a brokerage model and a world-class global brand. Our ethos is centred on relationships and results, without geographical boundaries restricting our brokers or the movement of their talent. Every one of our clients has our entire team working for them. Our aim is to redefine the luxury real estate industry, which I feel we are already well on our way to achieving.

If you look at our global coverage, we are the largest luxury real estate company in the world. With international buyers in Prime Central London accounting for an average of 72% of the buying market, our global reach has never been more relevant. What’s more, Americans are now the third most prominent nationality buying in PCL, and we are the only agent in the UK with a significant US presence, with 714 offices in 45 states alone. To put this into context, our US based network alone is larger than the full global network of any other UK agency.

UKSIR has attracted a lot of talent over the last six months. How competitive is the luxury real estate market?

The pool of talented brokers gets smaller the higher up the price bands you go, so the luxury real estate market is extremely competitive when it comes to attracting the best talent. We have been fortunate enough to be able to hand-pick a stellar team, many of whom are the best brokers in the industry. Several are a brand name in their own right, and each of them brings a huge wealth of expertise, client following and track record.

Across our team we have a shared passion for excellence, with exceptional service standards and results at the heart of everything we do. We have no juniors in our team, with our brokers averaging 16 years of experience per person. This is incredibly important for us and our clients as no matter who they are dealing with, they are always in expert hands. There is no other agency that can offer this.

The merger/acquisition of Becky Fatemi’s Rokstone agency turned heads. How is that progressing and is there anything similar in the pipeline?

The acquisition of Becky’s business has been really important to us, both strategically and in terms of building our profile. Becky brings with her 27 years of experience in property; she is one of the most highly regarded agents in the industry and has joined with her entire team. With a track record of over £8bn worth of sales during the past 12 years under the Rokstone brand, we are already seeing her success elevate further under the Sotheby’s International Realty umbrella. With regards to there being anything similar, we are on an ambitious growth drive – so never say never!

How are you planning to grow the business further?

We’ve just recruited a country team with expansive expertise. Their knowledge encompasses many of the UK’s most highly sought-after locations, including Surrey, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Channel Islands. This is an exciting part of our strategy, and in a short period of time, we are already being instructed on some of the most exceptional homes across the UK, which is testament to the reputation of our team.

London-wise, we are committed to recruiting high calibre of brokers to enhance our already 40-broker-strong team.

What impact have Russian sanctions had on the top end of London’s luxury real estate market?

As mentioned earlier, London’s luxury real estate market is heavily dominated by international buyers and tenants who recognise and love all that London has to offer. Interestingly, Russia was only a small segment of the market before sanctions came in, so they didn’t have a huge impact. London has become much more global in its demand, with the most dominant buyer nationalities now American, Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese – as well as a fair few mainland Europeans.

When it comes to house prices, is there a data set that UK Sotheby’s International Realty really pays attention to and if so why – or indeed, why not?

We provide our clients with well-balanced and strategic data by cross-referencing data sets across our preferred sources. However, when dealing with some of the world’s most exceptional properties, data points will often become less relevant due to the rarity value of the property and the discretionary nature of sellers and buyers at the top end of the market.

Rightmove, Zoopla or OnTheMarket? All three or none?

It depends, as each marketing campaign we create for our clients is bespoke. We tailor the campaign to reach the most targeted and relevant audiences locally and across the world, and the strategy will vary depending on the property.

As a result, some properties will be showcased across multiple portals whereas others are exclusively on our UK website – www.sothebysrealty.co.uk and global website – www.sothebysrealty.com. We are incredibly proud of our stats; our global website receives 48 million views a year with over 75 million videos played annually. We are constantly investing in digital innovation and we are the number one most-viewed real estate channel on YouTube and we have our own dedicated Apple TV channel so the portals are only a small segment of our clients’ marketing campaigns. If I could only choose one website, it would be our own!