Ex-marine Tom Cartwright has joined the Belvoir network and opened a new office in Exmouth after completing the purchase of @Home Estate and Lettings Agent in the town and rebranding it to Belvoir.

Prior to joining Belvoir, Cartwright was a chef and then joined the Royal Marine Band and served 15 years. He was also an ambulance driver in Afghanistan and achieved the rank of Drum Major in the Band service.

In 2020 he was medically discharged following severe long Covid symptoms, although he somehow still managed to run a marathon during that time!

“I was medically discharged and took on a job managing a small hotel,” he said. “I realised I was pretty good at this and decided I wanted to run my own business.”

Cartwright says that he looked at his options and skill set and approached Belvoir who helped him to source a viable business for a hot start.

He continued: “This business came up for sale in Exmouth, where I’d been based for seven years so I know the area well, and it seemed like a good use of the money I received from the Marines.

“Philip Jones, the vendor has been prominent in the town for 17 years, and the business has a mix of about 50/50 sales and lettings. He has very much built his portfolio on personal relationships with the clients, which is great as this is the same ethos that I want to continue. My challenge now is to maintain those relationships.

“This is quite a small town and news travels fast. I’m based on the main street and Belvoir’s red branding really stands out amongst all the other neighbouring agents, so people are very interested. The Exmouth market seems to be in a bit of a bubble, as although there is a shortage of rental properties there is plenty of movement on the sales market and we are getting new instructions.

“The previous owner is staying on as a consultant for a while, and my wife Emma is also working with me. Belvoir Exmouth is a great opportunity, and as I’ve been a landlord and tenant over the years, I have personal experience of how bad the service can sometimes be, so I’m able to put myself into our clients’ shoes, which I hope will come across to our new and existing customers.”

Belvoir Group CEO, Dorian Gonsalves, added: “Tom expressed an interest in joining Belvoir some time ago, and our acquisition Team helped him to source a great independent business that he has now rebranded to Belvoir and opened as a hot start office.

“This is a fantastic way for a new business owner to hit the ground running, and just one of the ways that Belvoir is expanding into new territories throughout the UK.

“We are also looking for business owners who would like to rebrand their own independent businesses to Belvoir and I would encourage anyone who is interested to contact our acquisition team for more information.”