A small independent with just two branches and 12 staff is bracing itself for some 10,000 new homes to come on to its books – making it almost certainly the most valuable estate agency in the UK by size.
The Wilkinson Partnership, with offices in Winslow, Bucks, and Leighton Buzzard, Beds, is on the threshold of seeing a 30-year strategy materialise.
The firm, founded by John Wilkinson almost 30 years ago, has been quietly putting together deals between land-owners and developers in what will become the Oxford to Cambridge corridor.
Simon Wilkinson, son of the founder and who now runs the highly entrepreneurial small firm, said: “We understand, and are told, we are the dominant agent in the area in terms of development sites.”
Big national agents, including the likes of Knight Frank and Savills, have also been active, so this is no small achievement – particularly as the developers that Wilkinson has dealt with include all four of the big national firms as well as regional and smaller developers.
“We have a huge database of developers, and there was usually a lot of competition over the various sites,” said Wilkinson.
Altogether, over the last three decades, the firm has quietly arranged deals on 45 different sites covering 3,000 acres, on which there will be some 10,000 homes worth £1.9bn.
A number of the sites were put together by the agent.
“The most complex involved 16 different owners – and 16 sets of solicitors,” said Wilkinson. “Getting them all to agree to everything was not easy.”
In all of the deals, the agent acted for the land-owners. Key to the strategy was getting the developers to give Wilkinson exclusive selling rights when – and if – the properties were built.
That ‘if’ is now a certainty after the Chancellor announced in last week’s Budget that major development in the corridor is to go ahead – and soon.
By 2050, it is planned that there will be 1m homes in the ‘hi-tech arc’. The certainty is underlined by the creation of a new agency, Homes England, which will have powers of compulsory purchase to prevent delays caused by ransom strips, and which can take over planning powers from local authorities.
Wilkinson said that getting selling rights as part of each deal was not a significant hurdle: “Developers tend to operate their land-buying and sales teams quite separately. The land-buying teams are on targets, and were happy to agree our terms.”
Typically, says Wilkinson, the land-owners were given £1m upfront as part of their option agreements.
They now stand to get a lot more money as their acres are turned into building sites.
Each acre could now be worth £1.5m, but Wilkinson points out that the land-owners will not get anywhere near that much after various deductions, calculations and allowances for affordable housing, open space and infrastructure.
However, he says it is the first £1m that made so much difference to so many people’s lifestyles, enabling them to continue their ways of working but less stressfully.
“I got one development deal through at the absolute height of Foot and Mouth. The farmer came into my office to say that he had been within two weeks of going into his barn with a shotgun. Without that deal, that would have been the case.”
But how will one small independent agent cope with an influx of 10,000 instructions?
“We’ll deal with it,” said Wilkinson.
Below, Simon Wilkinson and a map of his fields of gold where the houses will be harvested after 30 years
Huge congratulations to this family firm. Quietly beavering away on a long term strategy that is paying dividends. #DoffsHat
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Salute please rifleman Wood, from memory Simon is/was an officer in Royal Green Jackets and that makes him a gentleman!
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Presents arms with sword fitted.
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Swift and Bold. Happy Christmas ‘Chosen Men’.
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I have known Simon for many years and he has never faltered in his determination that he would build this deal in the long term.
He is one of life’s “good guys”.
He, his family and his colleagues deserve every element of continued success that comes their way as a result of this project and the hard work they have put in over many years.
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I have known Simon Wilkinson for best part of 25 years or so. Well done and a fine example of the need for long term planning and commitment and not just short termism in running a successful business.
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Whilst I applaud the superb work done by the firm I do hope they have got 100% cast iron agreements with the developers. With the amount of money involved I wouldn’t trust any of them to not wriggle out of the sole selling rights by whatever of the considerable means at their disposal.
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Always wondered how you get a seller to give you selling rights . Can’t see how it benefits the seller. Also don’ new homes companies sell their own houses now. ? rightmove allow them to plaster houses that aren’ even built all over the site, which completely dilutes real estate agents properties.
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In long term deals, often 10- 20 years the vendor can either pay for on-going professional work at an hourly rate or ‘opt-out’ and require the buyer to give you the resale rights in lieu of them remunerating you. Unlike a house sale, this is a different business and more often that not, a 2 stage process. After the first part of the deal is agreed the work continues, in the complex promotion through the Planning system and of course the calculation of Value. When the first stage is finished the buyer is then bound and rights incorporated contractually and registered with the Land Registry.
Builders need land and often want the first crack at an off market site, so allowing the agent the resales, with or without their own sales teams makes sense – of course we would also hope to ‘add value’ to the sales effort through maximizing price, selling dependent property, advising on local marketing strategies etc – so its Win Win.
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Well said and I guess you are that Simon Wilkinson! Congratulations! There has to be a reward for helping all sides fulfilling their dreams (sellers and farmers alike) and of course the developers needing to build the future stock and of course a little twist of luck that the national planning framework has helped deliver. If you work with farmers there is a lesson in life generally, YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
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Fair play and very well done. Effort = reward.
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I bought my first house from Simon’s dad in Leighton Buzzard……and sold it with him of course! Always been a firm with the needs of the client at the heart of everything they do…… unlike some of the local, much higher profile competitors who have gone for the hard sell and fast buck who will be gutted when this all comes together! Well done Simon!
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Well done. Nice to see a good business strategy.
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It is a pleasure, Sir, to see you recognising a good job well done!
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