THE SPEAR’S 500 Property Ed Heaton Heaton & Partners


FOCUS Buying; North Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire


Former Savills director Ed Heaton has been on an impressive run of form since co-founding the firm that bears his name in 2013. Heaton himself has extensive knowledge of both residential and agricultural property. As a result, his company, Heaton & Partners, is one of the few property firms featured in the Spear’s indices to cover both capital and country. On its website, the firm says it caters ‘for a discerning and demanding client base’. ‘The best properties are almost


always sold behind closed doors. Doors we can open, both in London and the country.’ When it comes to buying fabulous homes, it adds, ‘there are no prizes for coming second’. How true.


Crispin Holborow Savills


FOCUS Country houses and amenity estates


Crispin Holborow provides a versatile service at the very top end of the country market, where he identifies the property needs of his clients and executes the strategy that fits their requirements. ‘I work across both country houses and estates,’ he says. ‘At the beginning of a property search, buyers won’t always know whether they want a house with 50 or 250 acres. So I try to steer clear of specialisation.’ This is why he sits as the country


director in the Savills Private Office, which acts as a ‘one-stop shop’ for all real-estate-related matters. ‘We ensure all family property requirements can be looked after at every level, with continuity of personnel,’ says Holborow.


Tom Hudson Middleton Advisors


FOCUS Buying; South and East


Tom Hudson co-founded Middleton Advisors in 2007, observing a five-point mantra: focus, independence, trust, diligence and knowledge. ‘It’s a way of encapsulating how we’re different to other people,’ he says. ‘For me the most important thing is trust. ‘Our client list is very strong, so


we’re just out hunting very hard for houses,’ he adds. He’s aware of the rumours about stamp duty and surcharges for foreign buyers, but notes that clients can ‘get an idea of what’s likely to happen in a stable government, and they will factor these points’ into their decision-making. Discretion is key for Hudson, who was endorsed by a top industry peer as ‘incredibly discreet’.


Mark McAndrew Strutt & Parker


FOCUS Sales, landed estates


A country boy at heart, Mark McAndrew only ever intended to stay in the big city for three years. Three decades later, though, he’s still working in Mayfair, albeit wearing a farm-ready khaki gilet. McAndrew believes country


property is distinct from the rest of the market.


‘Since 2007 the property world has been turned on its head, but farmland started to increase in value,’ he says. ‘This is because of the realisation that the world was consuming more food than it was producing.’ But rural property is as subject to change as the rest of the market, he adds. Brexit will undoubtedly affect agricultural land, as well as the 2020 Agriculture Act and the threat of global warming.


Jess Simpson Jess Simpson


Property Search FOCUSWest Country


With more than 20 years of experience, Jess Simpson is among the most trusted names in the prime country property market. She left Private Property Search, the buying arm of Strutt & Parker, in 2017 to set up her own firm. Simpson tells Spear’s that the move allowed her to enjoy freedom from the more ‘corporate elements’ of the industry. ‘Clients need comprehensive


advice,’ she says. ‘You never buy and then walk away. You’re involved all the way through, from appointing project managers, architects and interior designers to advising your client on horses and guns. ‘Clients are buying land for


environmental reasons, to offset their own carbon by planting trees or rewilding,’ she adds.


Clients are buying land for


environmental


reasons, to offset their own carbon by planting trees or rewilding


Jess Simpson Jess Simpson Property Search


FOCUS Sales, super-prime


Clients have told us that if Rupert Sweeting’s selling for you, ‘no one will work harder’, and that buyers will often ‘end up paying top dollar’. Sweeting has worked his magic on a range of tough deals, including the off-market transaction of Millers Barn, which exchanged hands ‘in a very short time-frame’. This was one of many deals he orchestrated with his distinct style – pushing the buyers and sellers together rather than allowing them to hold off for a better offer that may never materialise. The head of Knight Frank’s


country department has been living and breathing the countryside almost all his life, joining the firm from Cirencester more than three decades ago.


FOCUS Private country property


Charlie Wells is managing director of Prime Purchase, the buying arm of Savills. He advises private clients on the purchase of prime country houses, farms and estates throughout the UK. Often the properties he shows to clients are not on the market, with many deals taking place completely under the radar. ‘It’s my job to know about every


property that can be bought. That way clients have access to the full market,’ says Wells, who offers ‘solid and sensible advice on deal craft, the backstory and local area information’. Wells’ approach to buying is best described as hard-working and candid. There’s nothing to be gained from telling a client what they want to hear, even if it can make for an uncomfortable conversation.


Rupert Sweeting Knight Frank


Charlie Wells Prime Purchase


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