David Quinn talks to the directors of two Sussex property consultancies to learn how they have adapted their business strategies to changing market conditions
Stiles Harold Williams
Stiles Harold Williams has offices in Brighton, Eastbourne, Crawley and Worthing, as well as London and Croydon. Managing director David Hadden (pictured) says that, while trading conditions have been far from ideal, the firm remains on budget for the year, and “only a smidgen behind where we were last year”.
The company has 129 employees, of which 75 are fee-earners. It featured at number 31 in the 2010 Estates Gazette Top Agents survey, with turnover of £8.81m. SHW remained profitable throughout the recent recession, although it had to reduce staff numbers by around 15.
According to Hadden, the key focus in recent years has been to diversify, with less of an accent on transactional parts of the business. This paid off when the economy began to wobble.
“We have grown the property management and building consultancy parts of the business to safeguard against the vagaries of the economy,” he says. “We have intensified that since 2007, and that has been a good foil for us in terms of protecting us from the market going up and down.”
Nonetheless, Hadden suggests that the firm’s business space teams have seen a recent renaissance and are ahead of their fee targets, as well as 2009-10 figures.
Recent areas of growth include development consultancy. “We are still selling strategic land for development. Developers are seeing the growth potential and housebuilders are land banking for the future,” says Hadden.
In the future, he expects steady growth and believes the market will be reasonably resilient, thanks partly to the proximity and “power of the London markets”.
Oakley Commercial
Brighton-based Oakley Commercial may be a small practice with just 14 fee-earners and eight administrative staff, but its diverse base has been the firm’s “saving grace” during the recent market tumult, according to managing director Chris Oakley (pictured).
“Prior to the crash, commercial agency, professional, management and residential agency were all doing well. Afterwards, we had some bad months in some departments, but that was counterbalanced by strong months in others,” he says.
The relative scarcity of quality office stock meant that the market was relatively insulated from major shocks, but Oakley acknowledges: “As a businessman, it is a challenging time to be doing business.”
In recent months, the firm has found that it has developed a strong bond with developer clients, focusing especially on viability studies.
While public sector cuts may be bad news for workers and potentially the wider Sussex economy, other areas of growth for the firm include local authority work. For example, Oakley reports an upturn in demand for services related to the rationalisation of council property portfolios.
Ultimately, Oakley believes local knowledge is a resource that is becoming increasingly sought after by potential clients seeking a “regional view rather than a London view”.
“I think there will be growth going forward. I can see the residential sector recovering first because of a shortage of good quality housing. Commercial is going to be slower and more difficult because there is further to go,” he adds.
