Follow us on Twitter @TheNeg
TheLife MOVERS & SHAKERS
Bushells acquired by Edmund Cude An interesting acquisition in central London has been finalised by
London’s oldest lettings agency, Edmund Cude, founded in 1818 which has brought fellow London agent, Bushells, into its network of branches. Bushells is also very well
established, having launched in 1938, growing to its current nine branches which, added to Edmund Cude’s six, brings their total number of offices to 15, covering a significant area of central London. The acquisition is the second
in three months for Edmund Cude, who bought West Kensington agent, Coutts de Lisle in May, which has been rebranded as Edmund Cude, but there are no plans to rebrand Bushells. Robert Nichols, Director, Edmund Cude, told The Negotiator, “Bushells is a household name among London’s estate agents and we are excited to be joining forces with a business that has similar values to us, both in terms of professional integrity and investment in people. One of the most attractive features of the Bushells business was the consistently high levels of customer service and feedback achieved by the team, something we value very highly.” While Edmund Cude has
always specialised in lettings, Bushells offers sales as well as lettings so there will be a pooling of skills and experience, “We recognise the tremendous value of it’s long established brand, operating sales and lettings very successfully, so we wouldn’t throw that away. The business is in excellent shape, in fact it is a perfect fit for us, with very little overlap of coverage, we won’t need any large scale reorganisation. Bushells was run by the well
known Eric Walker, who remains as a consultant, and owned by a private, non executive investor who wanted to concentrate on other interests. The sale price is not disclosed, but, said, Robert, “It was a very significant sum, but we consider it to be very well worth it!”
www.thenegotiator.co.uk
Chesterton Humberts opens in Kensington Chesterton Humberts has opened in Kensington
Church Street which, with the long-established Kensington High Street branch, offers complete coverage of the area. The branch won instructions on
19 properties, handling nine offers and tying up one deal, all within the first three days of opening. It is managed by Nick Carter,
who previously worked at the High St Kensington branch, while the branch’s lettings operation is run by Francesca Fortunati, who joined Chesterton Humberts in 2009. “It is very exciting to be running
a branch in this area of London at the moment”, says Nick, “demand is being sustained by a general ‘flight to quality’ by international buyers and house prices in The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea now stand at 14.4 per cent above their pre-recession peak.”
Student goes to Shanghai A Nottingham Trent University student has won an internship in Shanghai with Knight Frank. Will Buttery, a second-year
undergraduate in real estate, was awarded the two-week fully expensed placement through the 2012 Sociable Surveyors Global Internship Scheme. Sponsored by RICS, Sociable Surveyors provides surveying internships at industry leading firms, helping students and recent graduates to widen their experience in global offices. Will was awarded the placement
after uploading a two-minute video CV that demonstrated his passion for the industry. He said, “The graduate jobs market is highly competitive and you need to set yourself apart from the crowd. I couldn’t believe it when I got the call, I still have to pinch myself when I think about it.” Keith Agar, senior lecturer in real
estate at Nottingham Trent University, said, “Will is a gifted student who has recently finished a year-long placement with the estates department of McDonalds Restaurants in London. The placement with Knight Frank will give yet another dimension to his CV and make him even more employable after graduation.”
haart’s new branch in Newport haart has opened the first of its next generation of High Street branches in Newport, South Wales. The 3,840 sq ft premises, forms
a key part of a drive by haart to become ‘the estate agent of choice’ for people looking to buy, sell, let or rent; their new strapline is, ‘Always your best interests at haart’. Paul Smith, CEO, said, “We have been consulting widely with the public over recent months about the type of estate agent they would like to see, as well as the services they offer, not just now but also in the future.” Heading the branch is Sarah
Lavery. Sarah, who has worked for haart’s sister brand Darlows since 2005. Sarah said, “The response to the arrival of haart in Newport has been absolutely fantastic from both sales and lettings customers. The public really seem to like the new branding, which is fresh, vibrant and quite different from everything else currently on the High Street.”
A merger made in Mayfair London based Blenheim Bishop, a lettings, management and sales business is to
merge into Pastor Real Estate, a top end estate agency with roots in real estate in Monaco. The new business will be branded Pastor Real Estate incorporating Blenheim Bishop, whose team will move into Pastor’s offices in Mayfair. Established 21 years, Blenheim Bishop operates across Mayfair, St James’s, Marylebone & Fitzrovia. Pastor Real Estate, is one of the largest and oldest agencies in Monaco. Jonathan Vandermolen MD, Blenheim Bishop said, “I have sold the business because I am looking to focus more on my activities in the residential land and investment business. It was vitally important to me that the business, clients and team, which will continue to be managed by Susan Cohen, whom I greatly value, were sold to a firm whose reputation and professional ethics were in line with our own.”
Office Angels MD joins DSR Former Office Angels MD, David Clubb, has joined Deverell Smith Recruitment as Chief Operating Officer (COO) as the property recruitment specialist continues to enhance its board of directors. Clubb, who spent 15 years with
the Adecco Group, including five on the board as the MD of Office Angels, will focus on people development, devising an employee engagement strategy for DSR and its nine sector specific property teams. Since its inception in 2006
Deverell Smith Recruitment has doubled its turnover year on year, Clubb’s remit will also see him further grow the business, expand to new sectors and help develop values that come directly from the staff . Clubb says, “Experience shows
that employees that feel engaged with and whose employers understand their need for personal development are far more motivated and productive. This breeds loyalty to the company, rather than just their formal HR contract and helps them buy in to the culture and brand, creating a more powerful psychological contract. This will help drive Deverell Smith Recruitment forward but more importantly enable us to add further benefit to the bottom line of our clients, with highly skilled, knowledgeable and engaged consultants.” Deverell Smith Recruitment
CEO, Andrew Deverell-Smith, says, “Since starting the business, I have seen the company grow from three to thirty staff members, thanks in principal to the people we employ and the excellent property clients we work with. David has two decades of experience in the recruitment sector and in his role as chief operating officer he will be an invaluable asset in developing our own internal talent and enhancing our strong board of directors as we continue our expansion plans and ambitious goals.”
TheNegotiator l September 2012 l 47
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53