John Slade has split from Hamptons International.
Slade ended his five-year relationship with Hamptons this week, heading a management buyout of his Hamptons Commercial division.
From today the commercial practice will be renamed Slade & Co.
Slade, along with company directors John Baines, Rob Johnston and James Keys, and consultant Charles Dunsford, funded the buyout of Hamptons International’s 60% stake in the agency.
Formerly chief executive of Richard Ellis’s City office, Slade said that his 12-man team will focus on advising its existing 25-strong core client base, which includes Hemmingway, Aberdeen Asset Management, Henderson and MWB
Slade famously won an out-of-court 1999 settlement from Richard Ellis St Quintin after claiming that, when he resigned the previous year, and sold back half a million shares to the firm, he was not told that Richard Ellis was already in talks with US group Insignia. He claimed he lost £760,000.
Slade said: “For the time being we will concentrate on our clients.
“We would like to expand, but not in the short term and not enormously.”
He added that the decision to separate from Hamptons International was mutual.
“Hamptons wants to move back to its core business, which is residential.
“We decided that our interests would be better served if we were independent. The relationship is a good one.
“We will still work in association with Hamptons, but there won’t be any cross-ownership.”
He said: “I think we’ll do well. Every autumn the industry gets the jitters, but we’re confident that we will continue to do a good job for the clients who pay our bills.”
EGi News 18/10/02
