Independent since 2009
About us
Nine people, two offices, no franchise, no head office and no call centre. The fee has been on the website since the day we opened.
Why we started
Because nobody would tell anybody what it cost
Anna and Tom both worked for the same corporate chain in the 2000s, in an office where the fee you quoted depended on how much the seller looked like they would push back.
That is legal, and it is normal, and both of us hated it. So in 2009, in a recession, with two desks and a borrowed camera, we opened above what is now a bakery on St Mary’s Street and put the fee on the website. 1.2% then. 1.2% now.
The other thing we took from that job was what not to do with a sale once it was agreed. Nobody chased anything. Sales fell apart quietly for weeks before anyone noticed. Our first hire after the recession was a full-time progressor, which is a strange thing for a two-person agency to do and the best decision we have made.
How we work
Four things we do differently, and one we do not
- 1
The fee is published and it does not move
1.2% + VAT, on the website, in the valuation letter, in the terms of business. If an agent will drop 0.6% because you asked, consider what the first number was for.
- 2
No tie-in
Fourteen days’ notice and nothing to pay. It keeps us honest, and it means our marketing has to work rather than just start.
- 3
A full-time progressor
Joe does nothing except get agreed sales to completion. It is why our fall-through rate is 11.2% against a national figure around a quarter.
- 4
Our own photographer
Sam shoots every instruction. Not a phone, not a franchisee with a wide-angle lens, not "we'll send someone".
- 5
What we do not do: value high to win the instruction
It is the oldest trick in this industry and it costs sellers real money. We would rather lose the instruction to the agent who told you what you wanted to hear, and take the call in ten weeks when it has not sold.
Where we belong
Regulated, insured and answerable
We are members of Propertymark — NAEA for sales and ARLA for lettings — which means qualified staff, a code of practice and independent Client Money Protection. Our CMP certificate is on the wall in both offices.
We belong to The Property Ombudsman, membership no. D08841. If we get something wrong and our own complaints procedure does not put it right, you can take it to them for nothing, and their decision binds us and not you.
We are supervised by HMRC for anti-money-laundering purposes, which is why we ask sellers and buyers for identification, and why we cannot skip it however inconvenient it is. Tom is our nominated officer.
We hold professional indemnity insurance and we are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Come and meet us
Both offices are on the street with the door open. No appointment needed if you just want to ask something.