Award winning estate and lettings agency Thomas Morris Sales & Letting  has announced that its managing director, Russell Sansby, will be retiring next month.

The firm has offices in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Sansby, who started his estate agency career with the highly regarded Cambridgeshire-based agency Ekins Dilley & Handley in the 1980s, progressed his career in the classic fashion, starting as a negotiator and eventually becoming an area director when ‘Ekins’ was bought by the Prudential.

He joined Thomas Morris in 1993 as a partner and subsequently ran a number of branches, overseeing various initiatives including the acquisition of several letting agents, and the establishment of a conveyancing and financial services arm.

He also helped set up training company TM Training & Development, run by Julian O’Dell.

Sansby was one of the lead negotiators in the sale of a major shareholding in Thomas Morris to LSL’s buying arm in 2015.

He said: “I’m very fortunate to have had such a varied and exciting career in a business that I love. I learnt a lot from my early corporate days, lessons that subsequently really helped me at Thomas Morris.

“I will really miss my colleagues and I’ve been genuinely moved by the numerous messages I have already received from colleagues throughout the entire industry, not just at Thomas Morris.

“I am now, however, looking forward to my retirement and feel confident that under the continued leadership of directors Simon Bradbury and Kevin Thomas, the agency will continue to operate successfully.”