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20 focus on maidenhead


30 years of property solutions


Independent property consultancy firm Kempton Carr Croft celebrates 30 years of business this month


Established by Malcolm Kempton and Michael Carr in 1986, the multi-disciplined firm has grown to over 40 staff and seven local offices that support its head office in Maidenhead to provide property solutions across London and the Thames Valley.


Thirty years has seen Kempton Carr Croft become an award-winning, trusted and recognisable regional firm for property consultancy services. Key milestones to date include; the acquisition of three smaller firms, growth from two to over 40 staff, four head office relocations, nurturing seven graduates through completion of their APC to gain chartered status, and implementing business changing CRM technology and restructuring plans in 2016.


Here business owners Michael Carr (left) and Malcolm Kempton (right) reflect on their time working together and look ahead at what’s to come for Kempton Carr Croft.


What’s important to you as business owners?


MC: Perception. Our business is built on strong moral values of honesty, hard work, professionalism, integrity and fair game. It’s important to us that these values are also perceived as characteristics of the firm by people who work with us. Building solid relationships with clients that come back to us time and time again because they trust us to do a good job is much more important to us than making a quick buck.


MK: People. Running a business becomes such a huge part of who you are. You live it, breathe it and never stop thinking about it, so having a happy and stable team around you with clear objectives and a shared ethos is a recipe for success.


What does the future look like for KCC?


MK: Doubling headcount in the past three years made us realise we needed to update our organisational structure so we have a scalable platform to continue to build upon. Defining heads of service areas was a big milestone for us and allows us to spread the running of day- to-day business operations.


Kempton Carr Croft has never been in such an exciting place as where it is now and we hope the next generation is going take Kempton Carr Croft onto bigger and better things. When anyone asks “What’s been your best year?” we always say “We haven’t had it yet.”


Kempton Carr Croft is an independent, multi- disciplined firm of surveyors. Services include, building surveying, valuation, property management, commercial disposals, LPA receivership, development viability, landlord and tenant matters, commercial disposals, dispute resolution and expert witness work.


How did you meet?


MC: We were scouts together as teenagers then met up again by a chance encounter via volunteering as scout leaders after university. Unbeknown to each other, we’d both pursued property careers independently and after putting the world to rights in a pub catch-up we felt it was the right time to give our own practice a go. Kempton Carr was formed eight months later in May 1986 and the rest as they say is history.


20 years of steady growth


MK: We started out in a tiny serviced office in Maidenhead and as you’d expect, the first few years were tough. Dave Jones was our first professional hire in 1988 and he is still working with us today. After winning our first commercial instruction as panel valuers for Barclays and completing the acquisition of sole trading business Geoffrey Carr (no relation) in the same year, we experienced steady business growth over the next two


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decades despite some precarious moments when the 90s recession hit. During this time we split our staff between our Gerrards Cross and Maidenhead offices before regrouping in 2005. This is when we reworked our business plan, incorporated the firm in 2006 and hired several new surveyors to pave the way for the KCC’s next chapter.


Rapid Expansion


MC: By 2010, we were up to 17 staff and had acquired two more firms, Mead-Briggs and Croft & Co to become ‘Kempton Carr Croft’. We had outgrown our office space again and made the move to Chatsworth House in Broadway, Maidenhead where we are today. This move became synonymous with presenting a new image for KCC. Rather than contract through the 2008 recession, we expanded from Maidenhead and repositioned ourselves as London and Thames Valley consultants. Rapid growth ensued and between 2013 and 2015 we went from 17 to 40 staff to keep up with the demand for our services.


Follow @KemptonCarr on twitter over the next 12 months for more memories from its 30 years.


Details: 01628-771221 enquiries@kemptoncarr.co.uk www.kemptoncarr.co.uk Twitter: @KemptonCarr


KEMPTON CARR CROFT


PROPERTY CONSULTANTS THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2016


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