About Us
Estate Agents & Valuers for all your property requirements
Gilbert and Cleveland declared their independence in 1993, and haven’t looked back since.
Big businesses enjoy big advantages. Economies of scale, favourable deals with suppliers and mass marketing collateral stack the cards in their favour. But Bigger needn’t mean better. Through local knowledge, personal service and expertise, small, independent firms can ultimately trump their larger competitors.
Nowhere is this more true than in the property market, where local knowledge means particular streets, even individual buildings. Equally, for most people buying or selling a property is a major undertaking with a big impact on their lives, so a personal service is paramount.
Gilbert & Cleveland, now firmly established as one of the regions leading estate agents, understand this. They’re a small company, but on their home patch they enjoy a large profile.
Jonathan Gilbert and Ian Cleveland, both highly experienced agents, opened their first office in Chichester in autumn 1993, when independent agents were thin on the ground.
‘We were both working for a large agency that was going very corporate,’ remembers Jonathan. ‘ Most of the independent estate agents were gobbled up in the ‘80’s, bought up by banks, building societies, insurance firms …. Not so much focused on selling property as financial services. We felt they were going about making money the wrong way, and had lost the personal approach. Big isn’t always beautiful. We spotted a niche in the market for an independent local firm, committed to service. A cottage industry if you like’.
The move was fully vindicated the following year, when they took over one of their former company’s offices in Aldwick Road, Bognor Regis. What had been an unprofitable branch quickly became highly successful. Gilbert and Cleveland soon took on a new partner, Clive Cockayne, and opened two further branches in Selsey and Felpham. The company remained focused on residential sales, at all levels, within a defined area around Chichester, Bognor Regis and the manhood peninsula.
‘We have exceptional local knowledge’ says Jonathan. ‘We keep our finger on the pulse and keep up to date with local trends. The further afield you go, that becomes diluted. The majority of our properties are within a couple of miles of one of our offices. There’s also a time element, we’re doing viewings all the time, and its much more efficient if they’re just around the corner.
Estate Agents don’t always enjoy the best reputation – deservedly so in some cases, as Jonathan acknowledges: ‘You’re dealing 99.9% of the time with peoples largest asset, and its worrying how derelict some agents can be in their duty. Agents overvaluing property is a major problem and some vendors do tend to go with the highest offer, however unrealistic it may be.’
Jonathan firmly believes that honesty is the best policy: trust, honesty and reliability form the cornerstones of Gilbert and Cleveland’s philosophy. ‘If you have the experience, there’s no great science to giving an accurate valuation.’
Gilbert and Cleveland remains very much driven by the partners, and enjoys an enviable rate of staff retention, meaning that the company can draw on a wealth of experience and expertise. With many agents coming across as little more than salesman in slick suits, it’s refreshing to deal with professionals who know the market inside-out and understand the ins-and-outs of conveyancing and the legal process. At the same time, the company takes a proactive approach to selling, and fully embraces modern marketing methods, achieving nationwide coverage through the Rightmove website.
For any successful small business, there’s a temptation to carry on expanding; after all, if four offices are successful, why not five, seven, nine …..? There are a lot of chimneypots on the south coast, and property remains England’s favorite way of generating wealth.
Jonathan, however, is wary of making the mistakes of the cooperate firms he left behind. You’ve got to focus on what you’re good at – don’t waste your energies on what you’re less good at. We have an excellent local reputation, and it’s vital to maintain that’.
‘We know our manor’. |
