Dedicated chairman Richard to step down

Richard Williscroft will step down from his position as chairman of Henry Adams at the end of March after 27 years.

Richard launched the estate agency arm of the business in 1992 when he joined his former colleague Henry Adams, who had set up his agricultural business a year earlier with Simon Lush, still an active partner at the company today.

Always looking to seize any opportunity to expand the business, Henry Adams now has 16 residential sales offices, a thriving lettings business, one of the region’s leading land and new homes operations, rural, planning, surveying and commercial property departments, with regular fine art auctions from its sale rooms in Chichester.

Richard first met Henry Adams whilst both were working for Prudential Property Services, which had bought Richard’s former firm Pearsons, where he was managing partner for its 35 offices. He subsequently became regional managing director for Prudential.

“I had great respect for Henry and all he stood for, you couldn’t meet a nicer man,” said Richard. “I really enjoy selling houses and I still get a buzz out of clinching deals. I’m very grateful to my wife, Jackie, who has had great impact throughout my career at Henry Adams, especially when I was working flat out seven days a week.”

Along with his passion for marketing, Richard has also championed the company’s involvement in the community, particularly Henry Adams’s sponsorship of Chichester Festival Theatre for the past 25 years.

Philip Jordan, chief executive at Henry Adams, said: “I would like to thank Richard personally and on behalf of everyone at Henry Adams for his dedication and the huge contribution he has made to the company’s success over the past 27 years.”