18 focus on high wycombe & bucks Continued growth for Whitley
2014 was a busy year for Whitley Stimpson following its merger in April with Baxter Payne & Haigh in Bicester, now known as BPH Whitley Stimpson. In the same month the firm incorporated and implemented a new, more professional management structure; and in October the High Wycombe office team moved to new bigger and better offices in the heart of High Wycombe town centre.
“We are a success story. Through merging with other businesses we are now one of the leading firms in the M40 corridor. We have built up a successful client base not just around our own geographical area but also stretching from the Midlands into London,” says Walton.
“Our move to bigger offices allows us to significantly increase our staffing levels to service our clients
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Property market on the move . . . and so is Romans auction location
With the property market back to pre-recession levels of activity, Romans auctioneer and director Simon Clayton is expecting a busy 2015, in his new year new auction ‘home’ at Green Park Conference Centre in Reading.
“Every year we are attracting more customers to our auctions of residential and commercial property, and building plots located across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and North Hampshire. Now the Romans Group* has expanded to take in the Henley, Burnham, Sunningdale, and Farnham areas, the need for a larger auction location was obvious,” said Clayton.
Romans auction attendances increased significantly during 2014, with numbers up 12%. Last year, full-houses at Romans property auctions were becoming frequent and Clayton and colleague- auctioneer Gareth Bell are looking forward to selling many more lots
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at Romans new auction location at Green Park (RG2 6GP) that can hold up to 500 people.
“Green Park Conference Centre in south-central Reading is a bigger modern venue and better for Romans’ customers, being located just off M4 Junction 11 in the commercial centre of the Thames Valley.”
Potential buyers are notably now travelling from London and a 50- mile radius of Reading to attend Romans auctions, said Clayton, mentioning that many preferred personal bidding during very lively auctions, rather than rely on telephone or proxy purchasing options.
“Lack of available property stock is making bidding very competitive, but there are some good opportunities for buyers, and frankly, you can’t beat the atmosphere of a live auction,” explained Clayton.
During 2014, prices gained at Romans auctions were on average up to 15% above the reserve levels that sellers were willing to accept. Properties sold ranged from a £4,000 lock-up garage to detached country homes in excess of £1million.
“Our average residential selling price was £255,000 and we sold more properties above half a million than we’ve ever done.” Office and commercial auction lots were also selling well, he added.
There was a growing level of private residential buyers, often outbidding builders and professional developers for individual properties, Clayton revealed. Sadly, demand was not currently being met by residential supply.
Some downsizers were now releasing larger homes to auction, but needed suitable alternative homes to buy. Meanwhile, demand was being stoked by the allure of
the Thames Valley for Londoners faced with soaring property prices, the travel potentials of Crossrail, and local towns being named in national surveys as attractive places to live.
Buy-to-let investment was back strongly within the market, with the Romans Group often selling the property at auction and later being asked to act for the purchaser in letting it, Clayton mentioned.
The spring General Election, with its potential ‘mansion tax’ threat, would likely influence Q1 for buyers and sellers, but Clayton felt confident that the property market would continue its vibrancy during 2015.
Romans auction dates at Green Park Conference Centre for 2015 are all on Wednesdays unless stated, and are: February 25, April 28 (Tuesday), June 24, July 29, September 30, October 28, and December 9.
Romans Group is a sponsor of the Thames Valley Property Awards 2015 being held at Ascot on May 14.
Details:
www.romans.co.uk 01344-753120
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – FEBRUARY 2015
Stimpson Jonathan Walton, director at one of the country’s leading independent chartered accountancy practices, Whitley Stimpson, talks about the firm's rapid growth in the past year and its ambitious plans for the future
and High Wycombe offices. Her role will be to attract, retain, motivate and develop our people to achieve their maximum potential and provide an exceptional service to our clients.”
The team outside the new office in High Wycombe
better. Town centre office space is increasingly hard to come by and it has taken some years to find the right premises; so this is a long awaited move that now equips us with an office four times the size, in a central location just three minutes walk from High Wycombe train station and with ample parking to suit clients and staff alike.”
“We continue to attract well-
respected, high-calibre professionals in order to grow the practice further and by the end of 2014, our staffing levels had increased by 50% in four years. In the past four months of 2014 we took on an additional 14 staff across the practice and have just announced the appointment of a new human resources manager Paula Nielsen who will support the business across the Banbury, Bicester
Walton concludes: “Over the past few years we have moved away from the general practice nature of the firm of years gone by and have established ourselves as regional, and indeed national, experts and service providers for a number of developing specialist sectors. We continue to develop these, and new sectors and recruit the people needed to service the businesses and clients within them. As we continue to grow and enhance the Whitley Stimpson service offering, you too could benefit from our strategic leadership thinking as well as the more traditional range of services one would expect from a chartered accountancy practice.”
For more information regarding Whitley Stimpson visit the website.
Details:
www.whitleystimpson.co.uk
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