The UK property market is enjoying its most buoyant period
in years.
Not only the residential market, which has seen a huge boom
partly due to the stamp duty break introduced during the pandemic, but
commercial property too has seen its highest capital value growth since 2017.
John Pugh, Managing Director at Coventry &
Warwickshire-based Loveitts, said the company is in the midst of exciting
times, with growth in every area of the business and very little sign of
slowing down.
In line with the growth Loveitts is offering exciting new
recruitment opportunities across all sectors of the business, including commercial
property.
Established in 1843, the company is one of the region’s
leading estate agents with a multi-disciplinary offering that remains unique in
the industry even today.
With branches in Coventry, Nuneaton and Leamington Spa the
company offers residential sales and lettings, land and new home sales,
commercial agency and estate management, block management, professional
valuations and lease advisory consultancy among its service portfolio.
Loveitts represents clients not just in Coventry and Warwickshire, but from as
far afield as Manchester in the north, Southampton in the south and
Leicestershire / Northamptonshire in the east.
With a near 60-strong workforce the company enjoyed a near
10% growth in turnover over the past 12 months (despite Covid!) and is
envisaging significant future growth in the forthcoming year.
John Pugh puts the success of the company down to the vision
of its original founders – maximising new business opportunities and
diversifying the service portfolio, all while ensuring the best interests of
the client are at the heart of every deal.
It’s a strategy which is working well, with Loveitts able to
maximise opportunities in all corners of the booming property market.
According to the latest figures from the CBRE Monthly Index,
property capital values increased by 0.8 per cent in June. This represented the
highest all-property capital growth figure since December 2017.
The retail sector’s capital value grew by 0.5 per cent in
June. Retail warehouses alone rose by 1 per cent in that time – the steepest
rise in seven years. The value of high street premises grew by 0.3 per cent,
while industrial premises’ capital value grew by 2.3 per cent.
John Pugh said Loveitts’ vast offering allowed the business
to grow alongside the markets.
He said: “Every area of the business is on an upward trend,
with no sign anywhere of slowing down.
“Strong house sales in the region are seeing demand
exceeding supply. There is also equally strong demand for commercial property –
industrial premises in particular, with multiple parties keen to own rather
than rent.
“Residential lettings are also on the up, with an increasing
number of managed properties on our books and our residential block and service
charge management department has seen an unprecedented rise in activity with an
increasing number of block coming under our stewardship.”
The company’s popular auctions – a firm fixture on the
Loveitts calendar for more than 100 years - have been conducted online since
Covid19, giving the agency the flexibility to organise the events more
regularly albeit a return to room (alongside its live-stream auctions) is
anticipated very shortly.
Perhaps surprisingly, Loveitts is still the only auctioneer
in the Coventry area even today. The company is looking to rally the crowds
back to live auctions in the near future.
With more land in its portfolio Loveitts has expanded its
new homes offering, disposing of development sites for landowners. Its
dedicated new homes department is a hit with an increasing number of local
developers appointing Loveitts to sell their properties.
Valuations too are on the increase with demand from lenders
as well as pension funds and solicitors needing valuations for various purposes
- whether matrimonial or tax computation purposes.
Loveitts pins its success and longevity on its unrivalled
customer care and its ever-expanding service portfolio, with the diversity of
its offering creating more business opportunities.
John said: “It is not uncommon for a customer selling his
home through Loveitts to mention a colleague with a flat or some commercial
premises to let, or for someone who is looking to let their flat asking for
help with the management of the property and later recommending Loveitts as the
manging agent for the entire block.
“Such business opportunities allows us to grow so as a
practice we’re now looking to further extend our offering by recruiting new
professionals across all sectors and especially in Commercial where there’s
currently a fantastic opportunity for career progression to potentially head up
the Commercial team in the future.
The Loveitts of 2021 is a far cry from the Loveitts of 1843.
But adhering to the principles of its original founders has allowed the company
to enjoy a long and prosperous journey, building an unrivalled reputation as a
prominent and respected player in Coventry life over many generations.
Even in the company’s early years it oversaw some of
Coventry and Warwickshire’s largest and most important property deals.
These included an eight-day auction sale at the 12th
Century, 500-acre Coombe Abbey Estate, the sale of the Coventry Opera House
which opened in 1889, the sale of Coventry’s historic Queens Hotel which was
demolished in 1967 due to war damage, and even the auctioning of one
whole side of Hertford Street – its home for many years until 1941 when its
former offices – at number 61 – were heavily bombed, destroying company records
and forcing Loveitts to relocate.
