_Knight Frank Belgravia celebrates ten year anniversary
This year marks the Belgravia office’s - one of Knight Frank's most successful London outposts - 10-year anniversary with Stuart Bailey, Head of Sales, and Tom Smith, Head of Lettings, at the helm for a decade.
Off to a rocky start in 2008 notably marked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Stuart Bailey and Tom Smith steadied the ship.
“We opened in May 2008 and, just four months later, Lehman Brothers collapsed. It perhaps wasn’t the wisest time to open a new office!” Stuart admits.
Although that first year was “financially challenging”, Stuart, who joined the team with seven years’ experience on the patch in Belgravia, puts their success down to relationships.
“We hit the ground running because we already knew a lot of clients in the area, which is vital to business in Belgravia.”
Stuart and his colleague Matthew Armstrong have been working together on and off in Belgravia for 17 years, ensuring clients benefit from their many years of experience and continuity.
The lettings department was inaugurated in September 2008, and, back then, comprised a single desk.
Over the years, it has expanded into its own office on Chester Square – opposite the sales office on Lower Belgrave Street. Tom now has a team of six, some of whom have been there almost as long as Tom, and together they consider themselves one of the most successful teams within the business.
From left: Stuart Bailey, Tom Smith
Loyalty is an asset across the board at Knight Frank. Although both Tom and Stuart have been at the firm for over a decade - eons in an increasingly capricious job markets - it’s a drop in the ocean compared to others in the business.
“Many colleagues celebrate 20 or 30 years with Knight Frank,” says Stuart. It’s this longevity and their long-standing client management that’s key. “The secret to the area is relationships – year after year over 50 per cent of our business is repeat or recommendation business.”
“We’re always in contact with our clients and reachable 24/7. We’ve gained market share and generated further business through focus on exceptional customer care and experience,” says Tom.
And the figures bear this out: even though, according to LonRes, there was a slight downturn in the market – 15 per cent less sales in Belgravia in 2017 than 2016 – Knight Frank has managed to maintain the same number of sales in the past two years.
More recently, there has been a pick-up in the lettings market. “When the salesmarket is on the up, clients will sell, but when the market softens and they don’t want to sell, they’ll rent,” Tom says.
Synergy is key to winning business. Tom and Stuart are in constant contact with each other, and will point clients in the other’s direction if they decide to let out their property rather than dropping the price dramatically – something which is rarely seen in Belgravia, as clients, investors and property funds tend to hold onto an asset and wait until the market picks up.
“Some sellers have become landlords, and hold on to the belief in capital growth a few years down the line and are taking the yield they get at the moment as a half-decent margin.
"It makes Belgravia a safe place to live and invest, as you don’t see dramatic falls – you just see it soften and stop", Stuart says.
By the same token, some tenants decide to rent a property in order to ‘try before they buy’, looking to potentially purchase it further down the line.
So, what exactly is it that has always made Belgravia so attractive to renters and purchasers alike?
“Fashion fades – only style remains the same,” Stuart says, quoting Coco Chanel. He and Tom agree that it’s more what hasn’t changed, such as the white stucco buildings, neat garden squares and village-like atmosphere that makes the neighbourhood appealing.
After 10 successful years at Knight Frank, they’re looking forward to what’s in store for the next decade.