Perfect timing is the secret of property success

By Heather Rose
Posted: 2008/04/11

HE started his estate agency when the market was at its Nineties nadir, but now Simon Rettie is reaping the rewards of focusing on service.

LAUNCHING a property business when the housing market was in the doldrums may have been seen as an act of folly. But chartered surveyor Simon Rettie was confident he had chosen the perfect time to launch his new agency.

It was 1993, and the housing market was experiencing tough times, when he decided to establish Rettie and Co in Edinburgh's India Street, employing three people.

Simon said: "It is sometimes the hard times that bring better service to the surface. That was when we started and the business continues apace."

During that first year of trading, the firm sold 30 properties.

Today, Rettie and Co – which is owned and managed by its executive directors – is one of the most successful and respected names in the Scottish housing market, still going from strength to strength. This week, they have been celebrating their expansion into larger premises in the heart of Glasgow.

Since those early days 15 years ago, the business has grown substantially. The firm now employs 80 people, manages a portfolio of more than 500 properties throughout the country and during 2006 achieved excellent sales.

As well as residential property sales and marketing new homes, the firm is also involved in land and development, the rural market, valuation and consultancy work, as well as letting and management.

Last week, Rettie and Co took another step forward when they launched a new department to focus on regeneration projects.

Matthew Benson, director of their land and new homes division, said: "Our involvement in this sector has grown rapidly and the recent successful launch of projects with PARC and Places for People, where we have acted as residential consultants and selling agents, have highlighted the growing need for professional support in this area."

The growth has been remarkable. Five years after putting down those business foundations in Edinburgh in 1993, Rettie and Co opened an office in London.

In 2005, another opened in Melrose and last year the firm opened in Glasgow, with the move to new premises in Bath Street taking place a few weeks ago.

"It was never a case of if we open an office in Glasgow, " said Simon, "it was always a case of when.

"Over the years, we have sold houses to people in Glasgow so we owe it to Glasgow to offer a full service in the same way as we do in Edinburgh."

Although the business has gone from strength to strength and handled the marketing programmes for some of the country's most outstanding properties, the team has been quick to point out their focus remains consistently on quality of service rather than building a chain of high-street branches.

This business strategy is clearly working well. They handle property sales throughout the country, from Caithness in the north to Dumfriesshire in the south, and are becoming increasingly active throughout the UK as well as internationally, advising on investment opportunities within the Scottish market.

"I don't know anything other than to go for growth, " said Simon "There is no point in getting up in the morning unless you are going to better the position you were in before you went to bed. Our ambitions remain as high as ever."

INFORMATION:
0131 220 4160; www. rettie. co. uk