Trevor Kent, one of the industry’s biggest personalities, closed the door on estate agency for the last time on Friday to enter retirement.

Meanwhile, his son Leicester who worked with his father, opened his own new agency – an online firm – at the weekend.

EYE went along to talk to the pair at Trevor Kent & Co, in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, just hours before the completion of the sale of the premises to a law firm.

Trevor has been operating out of the branch since he purchased it – and the flat above – in 1973.

Looking around the bare walls he said it was a ‘poignant’ day but felt only ‘10% sad’ compared to ‘90% delighted’ to be saying goodbye to estate agency.

“I’ve absolutely loved it but it’s time to watch the next generation succeed,” he said, referring to Leicester opening his own independent agency, Leicester Trevor Kent Estate Agents, the very next day.

As well as competing against the relentless rise of the multi-branch national agencies, Trevor has survived three property crashes during the 48 years his name has been above the door.

He attributes his staying power to a number of factors – most notably rejecting the more typical business model of branch expansion.

“I have never been interested in multi-branch agency; it’s too much worry and the overheads are expensive,” he said. “By just sticking to just one office, I have always kept control of the business and the quality of service.”

Owning a small agency has also allowed him to be agile in ‘cutting the cloth’ according to a fluctuating market.

In the most recent housing crash of 2008, when local prices dropped so dramatically that “few people were minded to sell”, Trevor made his own two sons redundant while he got the business back on its feet.

“One went to work in another local agent and one became a dry rot surveyor,” he said. “They both came back but it was good experience for them.”

He also cites local knowledge, experience, reliability and a big media-friendly personality as being instrumental to his success.

(As if on cue, a local couple enter the branch to bid Trevor their good wishes. On learning Tevor is being interviewed, the gentleman says: “Ah, there’s certainly plenty of stories that can be told – as well as some that can’t.”)

Overarching the peaks and troughs of the market during the last half century, Trevor has seen house price inflation that almost defies belief.

He said: “The average cost of a home in the area when I started was around £5,000. Now it’s just shy of £1m.”

He added that some of the largest properties in the well-heeled commuter belt were priced between £10,000 and £15,000. Today they can be listed for anything between £3m and £4m.

Having grafted for over 50 years – even aged 20, he was managing a local branch of chartered surveyors – Trevor’s plan for retirement is simply to “watch some cricket and take it easy”.

Meanwhile Leicester Kent, 32, started his own online business on Saturday. It will operate in the same Gerrards Cross area.

Describing himself as a “classic estate agent with a modern approach”, he said: “With the dramatic drop in footfall I’ve seen over the last two years, I don’t think branches are necessary.

“And by not having to pay for overheads, I can pass the savings on to my customers.”

But Leicester said he has signed up to Rightmove in what he considers an ‘unavoidable expense’.

Kent junior already has 16 years’ experience in the industry, joining his father’s firm straight from school and working for other local agents.

“I would turn up to conduct property viewings on a scooter which I’d have to park down the road or hide under a tree,” he said. “But it always helped when I mentioned my surname was Kent.”

Leicester Trevor Kent Estate Agents