Sam Branston
Originally hailing from Bedfordshire, Sam studied
design at university
where he met his wife Charlotte, also part of the Bembridge team. Beginning an estate agency career in London with Foxtons in Notting Hill Gate, a lifelong interest in the armed forces and a thirst for a physical challenge led to him applying for a place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and joining the army. “I wanted to give myself some options, better myself. From joining in 2007, Sandhurst and the army provided a huge challenge seeing me lead soldiers on two busy operational tours of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles.”
Charlotte Branston
Originally from Bembridge, Charlotte grew up in
the village where her father ran the local newsagents, as his father had done before him. Her Swedish mother met her father on the beach whilst on the Island to learn English, where he was managing deckchairs, and the rest, as they say, is history.
After studying retail management at university, where she met Sam, and a short period teaching in London and on the Island Charlotte found herself as an army wife working in various diverse jobs from the racecourse at Chepstow to running the 1 Rifles wristband appeal for injured soldiers which raised £280,000. But the lure of the Island was always there and with the birth of their sons Jasper (4) and Albert (2) the decision was made to return for a more stable family life. “I
have so many memories of happy times growing up in Bembridge, spending time with family and friends on the amazing beaches, though every part of the village has its significance. It’s a wonderful place to live especially for families; there’s a great support network of family and friends, everything is here on your doorstep and the village has a lovely atmosphere.”
Having worked for Jenny Turnbull Estate Agents, Charlotte joined the Bembridge office when it opened last year and is thoroughly embracing her new role in her favourite place on the Island. “It’s obviously much quieter in the winter but there’s always something going on, we have the beach to walk Pip the Vizsla and for the boys to play football, rugby and catch crabs (we practise year round ready for the annual family crabbing competition!). The village really comes alive in the spring and summer with people visiting for holidays, sailing and enjoying what the Island has to offer – we couldn’t think of a better place for the children to grow up.”
Family was the reason that Sam left the army and with Charlotte, a Bembridge native, he moved to the Island to give their boys Jasper and Albert the wonderful childhood that Charlotte had had. “We came to Bembridge to find a better lifestyle. We were moving around too much with the army and we’d been coming to Bembridge to our holiday home for years so it seemed like the natural place to move to. And we made the jump.”
Having put feelers out for a job, Sam got together with Charles Spence and found himself working at the Cowes office for two and a half years. “The opportunity came to balance the company across the Island and improve the strategic gateways of Yarmouth and Cowes by adding Bembridge to the office portfolio. We are unique in that we aren’t your average estate agents. We all come with a wealth of life experiences combined with unparalleled local knowledge and I believe we are the only estate agents in Bembridge with an all-village staff.”
The portfolio of properties for sale through the Bembridge office is varied in both location and price with the office covering the East of the Island from Binstead to Luccombe. “We are selling coastal and country properties at all levels of the market, not just big and expensive but properties that are quirky, interesting and great quality and we find that 80% of our buyers are from the mainland so our local knowledge is a great asset.”
spencewillard.co.uk
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