A well known high street agent is stepping down at the end of this week after 27 years with the same firm and 50 years in the property business.

Richard Williscroft, chairman of Henry Adams in West Sussex, joined the estate agency arm of the business in 1992.

He joined a former colleague, Henry Adams, who had set up his agricultural business a year earlier with Simon Lush, who is still an active partner at the company today.

Henry Adams has been built up over the years to a network of 16 residential sales offices.

There is also a thriving lettings business, a land and new homes operation, plus rural, planning, surveying and commercial property departments.

In addition, the firm runs regular fine art auctions from its salerooms in Chichester.

Williscroft first met Adams when both were working for Prudential Property Services which had bought Williscroft’s former firm Pearsons, where he was managing partner for their 35 offices.

He subsequently became regional managing director for Prudential.

Williscroft, who qualified as a surveyor at Cirencester 50 years ago, said: “I really enjoy selling houses and I still get a buzz out of clinching deals.

“I’m very grateful to my wife, Jackie, who has had great impact throughout my career at Henry Adams, especially when I was working flat out seven days a week.

“We built up a good reputation pretty quickly and I remember standing in the ballroom at Goodwood House conducting a property auction for one of the houses on the estate.

“It was quite humbling being surrounded by such priceless art and we’d only been going for a year. We had some early successes and then it just flew.”

Williscroft, pictured, has also championed the company’s involvement in the community, particularly Henry Adams’s sponsorship of Chichester Festival Theatre for the past 25 years.

Last year, the firm supported 30 schools with over 75 fundraising activities, and this year its chosen charity is a local hospice.

Philip Jordan, chief executive at Henry Adams, takes on Williscroft’s responsibilities.