Property team are still going strong
AN estate agent which originated with the purchase of a terraced house in Accrington for £11,000 is celebrating 20 years in business this year.
Property Shop started out in business buying, developing and selling houses, and has flourished from there.
Managing director Steven Chippendale spent his early career in hospitality, managing a series of bars.
The sale of one of these gave him the opportunity to invest in his first project - 95 Stanley Street, Accrington - which he sold to an investor just over a year later following a full renovation, for
£24,000. He still proudly has the For Sale sign for that property!
Dealing in property meant he required a gas engineer, and had luckily
grown up in Baxenden with one - Paul Allen.
Paul’s son Jamie was working in house maintenance, and Steven and Jamie decided to go into partnership together, buying, renovating and selling houses.
Jamie’s dad Paul continued to work for the new firm, doing plumbing and gas work.
A former pub manager for Steven, Sarah now runs their accounts department and her future husband, James, was taken on as an apprentice and is now their gas engineer.
Steven said: “We’ve got a great team here, and lots of us have been together a long time. You only have to read our reviews to see how people value our service!”
Between 2003 and 2006, the business was buying and selling houses every two weeks.
In 2007 they bought their current Accrington premises, 11 Blackburn Road, and since purchased number 13 and made the two into one large shopfront and offices.
When the global financial crisis hit, they diversified their business and became a lettings agency – managing properties for other landlords.
The rental market was strong and they continued to add more than 100 properties to their management per year. Property Shop now manage more than 1,000 properties in the local area.
Moving into the sales and commercial side of the market enabled them to open a branch in Burnley last year.