Bradley Hall is a full-service property firm with more than 30 years’ worth of experience across the North East and Yorkshire. However, we are so much more than that, we spoke to our Group CEO and group director about their experience at Bradley Hall and some advice on getting into the world of property in the first episode of our new video series.
Q. Who is Bradley Hall?
A. Neil: “Bradley Hall is a collection of full service chartered surveyor branches, with estate agent practices throughout the North East.” A. Peter: “I would have to say, being biased, Bradley Hall is the most dynamic surveying firm in the area, and one which I have loved for 30 odd years.”
Q. How did you join Bradley Hall?
A. Peter: “I joined Bradley Hall as a graduate and loved the place from day one, even though our two partners were quite difficult, it’s a much better place to work now than it was when Neil and I were there. Business grew a little bit, I became a partner after four or five years, Neil then joined, me and Neil hit it off and worked the business up from there really.” A. Neil: “Similar to Peter really, with the exception that I joined as a placement student in 2000. Stayed on in my final year part time, and then took an opportunity to open the Gosforth office in 2004. The opportunity to open another city centre office in 2010, and along the way from there we opened branches regionally across Alnwick, Morpeth, Sunderland, and Leeds 18 months ago, and its all a bit of a blur. The rest is history so they say, but there is lots more to do going forward.”
Q. What makes Bradley Hall special?
A. Neil: “Bradley Hall is different because of the energy in the business and the way that Peter and I have evolved as a team and have grown the business over the last 30 years and it’s all about the people. It’s the will to be the best server, serving the clients the best we can, and to remember that we are in the service industry, we are here to look after our clients and to work exceptionally hard for them.”
Q. What advice would you give to those who would like a career in property?
A. Peter: “I’ve had loads of people come into the office and do a week’s work experience and then love it. I think there is no better business to be in, being in the property game, meeting people, being out and about, professional qualifications. I couldn’t think of a better industry to be in, certainly one I would want to be in.”
A. Neil: “It’s a people business. Work hard, get part time jobs, meet people, learn about the industry – it’s much hard if you don’t engage. People think estate agency is always selling lovely houses. It’s a very difficult business, but if you engage when you are young, whether that be babysitting, working at a pub, working on the shop floor, getting to understand how people’s minds work, that will make surveying a far easier business. “We’ve grown a lot of graduates, Peter and I being graduates ourselves out of Bradley Hall, but it’s about the work. It’s about the commitment and it’s about the determination. Get into the property industry if you’ve got those skills. Don’t if you haven’t.”
