Estates Gazette has pulled together the most authoritative research around to reveal the best-regarded property businesses. Who do employees rate? Which has the best brand? And which agents deliver exceptional fee earning opportunities?
Prime residential agency Beauchamp Estates retained its position as the biggest income producer per person, with seven fee-earners pulling in revenue of £604,285 each, in our latest Top Agents survey. This was a dip on the previous year’s £724,000 per fee-earner but still more than £100,000 ahead of its nearest rival.
Second place went to The Lorenz Consultancy, with the Mayfair agency’s four partners bringing in £500,000 each.
Specialist and niche firms dominated the top five, with CVS, Davis Coffer Lyons and Robert Pinkus & Co in third, fourth and fifth. DCL was among 17 firms that reported double-digit increases in turnover per fee-earner, with figures up by 52.5% to £334,000.
Most of the big agents filled the remainder of the top 10, led by Knight Frank in sixth with an average revenue per fee-earner of £300,000 and JLL in 10th with £275,000.
Almost a quarter of the 43 firms that shared data on turnover per fee-earner recorded a decline last year, although for some this was caused by an increase in the number of fee-earners rather than a decline in revenue.
Becoming a Superbrand
A berth on the annual Business Superbrands list is much coveted across UK plc. Estates Gazette has analysed the most recent data to present the complete property picture including naming, for the first time, those that were close but did not quite make the cut.
The annual Business Superbrands survey is independently administered by The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA). Brands do not apply or pay to be considered, instead they are drawn from a comprehensive database of UK business-to-business brands and compiled using a wide range of sources, from sector reports to blogs.
From the thousands of brands initially identified, nearly 1,500 brands – including 50 property businesses – were shortlisted, with final voting conducted by a 30-strong expert voting panel and, online, by 2,500 business professionals with purchasing or managerial responsibility.
The best performing brands were awarded Business Superbrands status with two categories, Real Estate – General and Real Estate – Commercial Agents/Advisors, of keen interest to this industry.
Stephen Cheliotis, chair of the Business Superbrands judges, said: In all categories, brands are judged on three core factors; quality, reliability and distinction, though clearly all voters will be influenced by all they have seen or experienced of each brand. Obviously, as a general brand benchmark survey general factors such as awareness/fame, leadership/share of voice, buzz/profile will have an impact on performance. Each of those factors will impact on how clients and employees – prospective and existing – view a business.”
Real Estate – Commercial Agents / Advisors
Savills topped this category last year. Indeed it has done so in all 11 surveys undertaken by TCBA. Other brands to have made Business Superbrands status in this category in 2016 were BNP Paribas Real Estate, Carter Jonas, CBRE, Christie + Co, Deloitte Real Estate, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton and Strutt & Parker:
Among those who did not make the grade – but were considered this year – were Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers International, JLL, Bidwells and Bilfinger GVA.
Real Estate – General
In this category Westfield topped the table, replacing Canary Wharf Group as the number one brand.
CWG did, however, qualify as a Business Superbrand again alongside British Land, Bruntwood, Capco, Capital & Regional, Derwent London, Great Portland Estates, Hammerson, Henry Boot Developments, Heron International, Land Securities, Quintain, Regus, SEGRO and Workspace.
In this category, among those who did not make the grade but were researched were A&J Mucklow Group, Assura, CLS Holdings, Hansteen, Helical Bar, HFD Group, intu, LondonMetric, Mckay Securities, MWB Business Exchange, NewRiver Retail, The Office Group, Primary Healthcare Properties, Redefine International, Sellar Property Group, Shaftesbury, Town Centre Securities and Tritax Big Box. Will they make the grade next year?
Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies 2016
• Select Property Group (13)
• Ashtons (18)
• Assael Architecture (20)
• LSI Architects (22)
• Mount Anvil (31)
Sunday Times 100 Best Medium Companies 2016
• Gerald Eve LLP (48)
Guardian UK 300 Graduate Survey 2015/16 – Property Top 10
• Savills
• Knight Frank
• BNP Paribas
• CAPITA & Infrastructure
• Foxtons
• Grosvenor
• Jones Lang LaSalle
• Countrywide
• Countryside Properties
• Cushman & Wakefield
Great Places to Work 2015, Medium and Large
• Capital Properties UK (ranked 5th on medium list)
• L&Q (ranked 27th on large list)
Best Companies Guide 2016, 3 out 3 stars
• Ashtons (18th on small company top 100)
• Mount Anvil (31st on small company top 100)
Who are the best property and housebuilding companies for graduates?
Smaller intake
• Croudace Homes
• Crest Nicholson
• Bidwells
• Knight Frank
• Tamdown Group
• Gerald Eve
• Travis Perkins
• BNP Paribas Real Estate
• Carter Jonas
• Taylor Wimpey
Larger intake
• Barratt Developments
• JLL
• Cushman & Wakefield
• CBRE
• Arcadis – EC Harris
• Savills
• Strutt & Parker
Source: ratings companies’ own graduate employees have given them in anonymous reviews written on TheJobCrowd.
