There are a lot of differences between Northern Ireland and England when it comes toworking in the property market. The obvious one is the size of the sector; another is finding the right staff. But one that is becoming increasingly important is the difficulty of expanding a small company.
The province has large firms, mainly independent, but is this the right place for budding professionals to start and further their careers?
Jeremy Cairns of Campbell Cairns, claims that, along with his partner, Ronan Campbell, he had to set up an independent firm in order to progress.
“There is a lack of opportunity because the market here is not as fluid as England’s,” he says. “For example, if you have three years’ experience of rent reviews in England, there are probably half-a-dozen companies or more looking to take you on. But in Northern Ireland, you are waiting for the jobs to come up.”
At the heart of the situation are the province’s employment rules. To ensure proportional religious representation, all jobs in Northern Ireland have to be advertised. Cairns says this rules out headhunting and the possibility of jumping ship over a quiet lunch. “The process here is much more stringent,” he says.
Robert Ditty of Osborne King, which has around 40 staff, says that when the firm needs staff at any level, it advertises in the Belfast Telegraph. However, it would consider advertising in Estates Gazette and Property Week for more senior staff.
He adds that most firms have no dedicated human resources staff, tending instead to give a member of the general staff responsibility for HR matters.
Laura Jane Kerr of recruitment consultant Hays Montrose says that the recruitment of general practice surveyors is growing in Northern Ireland a trend that contrasts with the traditional demand for quantity and building surveyors. In the past six months, however, she says there have been few enquiries, and the market is “limited”. “It’s more a watching brief,” she says.
Returning surveyors
Only one or two people a year return from positions in Britain, and the movement of personnel is mostly between practices in the province. Kerr says the normal modus operandi is for returning surveyors to send their CVs directly to companies rather than to recruitment consultants.
The majority of recruitment takes place in the run-up to the end of academic courses, in May or June. The Jordanstown campus of the University of Ulster is the main harvesting point for Northern Irish firms, although graduates from other universities are considered.
The number of graduates that firms recruit depends on the market. Ditty says last year was a good one for Osborne King, so it hired six or seven graduates. Normally it would take on only one or two of the 50-60 who leave university in the province every year.The market is not swamped, says Ditty, because those who have not been recruited go on to study for MBAs, go travelling, or leave to work in London or Dublin.
Firms in the province place a good deal of emphasis on the placement year, which many regard as a year-long interview, during which an undergraduate has a chance to see what a company has to offer in terms of career advancement, salaries and so on.
“I got my job by sending in my CV,” says recent graduate Fiona Boyd of McConnell Martin. “With fewer firms in Belfast, it is more difficult to get a job, compared with in England or Scotland.”
Boyd adds that she felt it was important to “feel comfortable with the company, that I would be able to work alongside staff there, that it had the right corporate culture. I heard about jobs through job fairs at university, advertisements and the grapevine.”
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A year ago, Keith Shiells was chief executive of Lambert Smith Hampton’s Belfast branch, and was holding forth on the benefits to staff and clients of being part of a large UK company. |
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A year later and Shiells, along with his colleagues Paddy Brennan, Paul Thornton and Douglas Wheeler, have pulled off a management buyout to form BTW Shiells. |
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Shiells believes the company has lost nothing by coming out of the LSH brand. In fact, he says it has given the firm greater flexibility and cut down on red tape. “What we put in, we get out. We own 100% of the profit, and nothing goes to London,” he says. |
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Local agents are unfazed by the transformation and even go so far as to welcome it. “There appears to be a renewed vitality at BTW Shiells,” says Bill Kennedy at Colliers CRE. “It has to be good for business. It’s good if agents are being proactive. It means there is plenty of work.” |
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The creation of BTW Shiells now the biggest independent firm in the province has not worried other firms in the market. They see no implications for their businesses. “Our local market has not changed by BTW Shiells’ forming,” says Ditty, even though Osborne King had been the province’s largest independent before BTW Shiells was created. |
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“The market here is driven by personalities, not the name above the door, so the pressure on us has been no more or less than it was before,” says Ditty. McConnell Martin’s Rory McConnell concurs: “There has been no change in the market. The locals are doing what they have always done. If there are any losers, it is LSH. Belfast was a big contributor.” |
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But there is a feeling that BTW Shiells could have problems winning contacts outside the province, and that it may have to rely on LSH contacts. McConnell says: “BTW Shiells is not aligned with anyone at the moment, and has no network, so maybe it will lose out when it comes to winning contracts elsewhere.” |
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Shiells rebuts the suggestion. “Agents in Glasgow or Manchester are more relaxed and open in talking to us now we are not part of a bigger entity,” he says. “We have no problem in doing jobs in England and Scotland now we’re not treading on anyone’s toes, and no noses are being put out of joint.” |
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This is just as well.Private individuals from Northern Ireland are investing in Britain at a higher rate than the province’s institutions and, as a result, providing a lot of work for Belfast’s agents. “The market is very much driven by the local developer and investor, and they like to work with people they know, rather than London players,” says Ditty. |
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But management buyouts are not for everyone, nor is everyone prepared to see their organisation swallowed up. David McNellis of Lisney says it would not be right for senior staff there to consider a buyout as the firm has a different structure to that of BTW Shiells.Ditty says Osborne King bought out of Abbey National 10 years ago. It has now formed an association with FPDSavills, but that is all it will be. “We’re tied in with Savills for investment, and would never go back to being controlled from an office in London,” he says. |
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Kennedy is also in favour of maintaining the status quo, claiming that the Colliers CRE office has strong business and personal ties with its British network. “There is a good crossover and we have no desire to be anything different,” he says. |
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While the majority of agents cherish their independence, Brian Lavery at CB Richard Ellis Gunne sees no problem in becoming part of a bigger family because it creates continuity. He says: “The red tape has been kept to a minimum. The more you become involved with an organisation, the more you get out of it.” |
