Last updated at 14:00, Tuesday, 20 April 2010
NEW VENTURE: Company secretary and director Duncan Peake, chairman Lord Cavendish and managing director David Corrie, who are setting up a new estate agent named Corrie and Co Independent Estate Agents LINDSEY DICKINGS REF: 50003920B004
THE Holker Estates Group has joined forces with a property specialist to open a new, independent estate agent, creating jobs across its three new branches.
Well-known estate agent David Corrie has teamed-up with Lord Cavendish’s group to create Corrie and Co – a venture that, they insist, will make buying or selling property in South Cumbria a more straightforward and stress-free experience for clients.
Later this spring, Corrie and Co will open branches in Duke Street, Barrow; King Street, Ulverston; and in Stricklandgate, Kendal, with 25 to 30 people to be employed.
For many years, Mr Corrie has played a key role in developing the commercial and residential property interests of Holker Estates, a combined group of companies headed by chief executive Duncan Peake.
Now they believe they have spotted an opportunity to expand and diversify the group’s property sector – and Corrie and Co is the result.
Lord Cavendish, chairman of Corrie and Co, told the Evening Mail: “We have been involved with property – agricultural, commercial, residential – for a very long time. But it has been fairly low-key and more recently there’s been a step-change and we want to be a bigger player in the area, particularly in Barrow, though not confined to Barrow.
“We have made a serious decision to go into partnership, as well as doing things on our own account. This is in recognition of several things. One, it’s easier than it used to be with the way the estate was structured financially and legally.
“Two, it’s a much more specialist age. We don’t have, in-house, the specialism that is necessarily required for what amounts to new initiatives.
“For a very long time we’ve been in touch with David Corrie about all property matters in the area and about skills we don’t have. When he decided that he wanted a change of direction, well, we would have been very sorry if anybody else had got him.”
Mr Peake, Corrie and Co company secretary and director, told the Evening Mail this latest venture – which in his words, is “the first time the Holker family livery has been used outside of the family name” – is part of the continued development of a thriving group.
He said: “A lot of people, when they think about Holker, they think about the hall and gardens and the festival. What the estate has developed over the years are numerous and diverse business opportunities in South Cumbria.
“Obviously the investment we are now making in this new business is part of that continuum. It’s a bit like the investment the estate made 12 or 13 years ago at Cartmel Racecourse, Holbeck Homes and, before that, Burlington Slate.
“Over that period, the estate has developed these dynamic businesses, now employing 250 people across the group. We see that as investment back into the local economy and what we want to do now is continue that going forward and, in this case, under a joint venture with David Corrie, with whom the estate has been associated for over 22 years. Some people may see it as a sideways move. We see it as a natural progression and an extension into the service industry.”
With the recession having taken its toll on the housing market, the creation of a new estate agency may seem strange to some.
But Mr Corrie, managing director of Corrie and Co, said the effects of the recession have been slightly misleading. In fact, he believes it is actually a great time to get on to the housing ladder.
Mr Corrie said: “I think the lack of appetite for investment and lack of enthusiasm in the sales sector in general has afforded the opening for a new agency in Cumbria.
“Within the estate agency industry, the practices are very traditional and old fashioned.
“With the recession, the industry became non-client focused. We saw the opportunity to set up a 21st Century estate agent that retains those values.”
Mr Corrie said the “21st Century estate agent” ideals are be reflected in the branches, which are designed to create a relaxed, non-pushy environment for clients.
They will feature sofas, coffee machines and a range of interactive features that will allow the client to browse at their leisure – with staff on hand to lend expert advice.
Corrie and Co will also be at the cutting edge of customer communication, with text message and email services available to keep clients completely up-to-date.
Mr Peake added: “The most common complaint about estate agencies is that they don’t keep in touch. So that is something we feel we have addressed quite comprehensively.”
Corrie and Co is wholly independent, which means it is free to search the entire market to find customers the best deal.
First published at 13:16, Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Sole of the Party
