Richard Wassell likes trinkets. He has a lot of them. He will buy something in every single store he finds space for during their first week of trading. “I always go,” says Wassell. “I love to see it when they open and the tills are first making money – I get such a buzz out of it.”
And it is clear that it is the small things that do it for Wassell. He says that helping businesses flourish and make money inspired him to set up twentyretail, an independent acquisition and leasing agency focused on guiding smaller businesses and start-ups on their journey to finding their first sites.
“In retail, many businesses cannot justify having their own estates department to find the right site and get the right terms, so we outsource that service to them,” he says. “We can suggest the interesting areas that are starting where we think start-ups will break through. We do work for some of the larger companies but our specialty is the smaller ones – what we are doing is working with the new sectors of occupiers.”
Wassell was the W in niche retail agency CWM. He started the business as Carter Wassell with Sarah Carter in 1990, and brought the M – Scott Murdoch – on board in 1992, growing the team to 25.
Then, in 2005, Wassell decided it was time to do something different and twentyretail was born. The business is based in an office in Marylebone, W1, but has now opened a second office in trendy Shoreditch, E1, so it can serve both east and west London.
And while Wassell is the first to admit that starting and running a niche business is a tough job, the effort appears to be worth it. Alongside bagging a coveted EG award last year, the firm boosted turnover by a whopping 139% and had more than 80% of its new business come through recommendations from existing clients.
So what is it that Wassell thinks has helped twentyretail succeed and pip some of the big boys – it was up against both JLL and Savills at the EG Awards – to the post?
“I just want to help, I suppose,” Wassell admits coyly. And he does. If you arrive for a client meeting at twentyretail, it will be Wassell doing the photocopying and making the coffee for the boardroom. There are no titles – whether you are the founder or a graduate, if something needs doing, it gets done. Wassell says he does not believe in titles – he believes in individuals.
Wassell’s need to please extends to his time. There are frequent office outings – a recent trip to Marrakech to name one – everyone gets their birthday off and all staff are paid to make sure they give something back to the community and do 20 hours of charity work each year.
“We try to find people who have the right skills to add to the business, and I think we have some of the best teams based on what we do,” he says. “You do not need to have been to university – I think the main thing is that you really have to enjoy it.”
twentyretail’s clients
Ignite Group – brands including Boujis club, Eclipse bars and Bumpkin restaurants, London
Look Mum No Hands! – café bar and cycle workshop, Shoreditch
Mothership Group – The Book Club and The Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch, and Stories on Broadway Market
Press Juice – UK juice company
Pint Shop – craft beer, Cambridge
Le Labo – New York fragrance company
Tonkotsu – east London Japanese restaurant
Chalk Valley – Farm-to-table Southampton restaurant
Fragonard – Perfumery
ANNA – Jewellery
More strings to the bow
As an extension of his desire to help client and his business, Wassell has launched a spin-off residential agency called twentyhome.
Wassell says the idea came from clients looking to invest elsewhere after their initial business had done well. Rather than send them off to estate agents, he decide to help them himself.
The business is run by Penny Duncan, an interior designer with more than 20 years’ experience, and claims to be able to “find and secure exceptional properties in London, efficiently and at the best possible price”.
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