One of the region’s leading group of estate agents has rebranded to Alexander & Co.
On May 1 the five agencies, which include Bannisters in Bicester, Claire Lloyd Properties in Aylesbury, Hartwells in Aylesbury and Wing and Baker Pearce in Harrow, adopted the name of the longest serving agency in its group.
The five agencies, which employ over 90 staff and have a combined 150 years’ experience, form one of the largest group of independent estate agencies in the region. Today they represent over 3,000 local landlords and over 1,000 buyers and sellers. Group CEO, George Thomas explains why the name was chosen: “Alexander & Co was established almost 50 years ago. Based in Dunstable, it’s rich in heritage, experience and has a reputation for giving customers the very best service – everything we stand for today. In this context it’s a natural evolution for us, and very much business as usual.”
The move will offer their clients greater investment opportunities. This was one of the main drivers behind the change, George explains: “Our clients will have access to an even wider pool of investment opportunities, in terms of properties to buy and let, and in areas perhaps they weren’t considering, along with greater marketing of their properties from a team they’ve enjoyed long-term relationships with.”
The group prides itself on being experts in its local property markets and has a shared vision across the group: to ease the property journey and give its customers the very best service.
It’s thanks to this ethos and the loyalty of its clients that Alexander & Co has grown to manage over half a billion in residential property assets, generating £21m in rental income for its clients, in the last year alone. In residential sales, it has sold over 630 homes in the last eighteen months, at a property value close to £200m.
Its success is owing to its in-depth understanding of the property market which enables it to generate better returns for its clients, George explains:
“Housing is one of the biggest financial commitments people will make in their lives, and its vital to speak to someone with experience. We offer clients a level of expertise and local knowledge you can’t get from the less experienced agents or an online service, it’s what sets us apart and why we generate significantly better returns on both sales and lettings. Our customers want face-to-face contact with their agents and the support and guidance of industry experts, which they will always find in Alexander & Co.”
Over the next twelve months Alexander & Co will launch a number of new services, similar to online banking, where customers can access property inventories and rental statements or monitor the progress of maintenance issues, among other things.
Speaking of the future George says: “We expect the local market to continue to grow. All the signs are encouraging. We’re seeing high demand and need more properties to sell and let across Oxon, Beds, Bucks and Middlesex. In 2018 we’ve already registered over 1070 people looking to rent, up on last year’s figures. We have more people looking this year, and their budgets have increased.”
