Boroughbridge estate agency Craven-Holmes shortlisted for top national award

This article is sponsored by Craven-Holmes.

Boroughbridge estate agents Craven-Holmes has been named a finalist in one of the most prestigious awards in the UK property industry.

The independent family-run business is one of 38 agencies shortlisted in the Small Estate Agency of the Year category at The Negotiator Awards 2022.

The winner will be announced at a black-tie ceremony at London’s Grosvenor Hotel on Friday, November 25.

Owner Tracey Wrigglesworth, who bought the agency in 2018, said it was a huge honour to be nominated.

She said:

“The Negotiator Awards are like the Oscars of the industry. Just to be shortlisted is massive.

“The criteria is incredibly tough. You have got to prove your worth.

“When I got the email to say I’d been shortlisted, I’m surprised you couldn’t hear me screaming in Harrogate!”

Tracey, who has more than 20 years experience in the local property market, runs the business with her daughter Mahalah Mulholland. Her friend Pauline Wardman also works at the agency and her son also gets involved when needed.

The sales, lettings and property agency works across the region in the Boroughbridge, Ripon, Thirsk, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Bedale and Wetherby areas.

Tracey and her team have all lived and worked in the area for many years and therefore have an in-depth knowledge of the local market.

Tracey said:

“We pride ourselves on our relationships and our customer service, as well as trust and integrity. We are really proud of what we do.

“We are an independent on Boroughbridge High Street and we are very much a supporter of the local community.

“I’m so proud of what we have achieved. The support that I’ve had has just been lovely with continued repeat business and recommendations.”

Whether you’re buying, selling, renting or letting, Tracey and her team are ready to help. Get in touch by emailing sales@craven-holmes.co.uk or lettings@craven-holmes.co.uk

For more information, visit www.craven-holmes.co.uk

Estate agent returns to Harrogate roots to sell properties in her hometown

When Libby Watt was a little girl growing up in Harrogate, she remembers playing ‘estate agents’, showing her friend around imaginary houses.

The childhood dream became a reality and she has enjoyed a long, illustrious career in property, which has seen her sell some of London’s most exclusive homes.

Now, she has returned to her roots and is three months into running her new estate agency, Barclay Watt Estates.

‘The most perfect cottage’

She said:

“I’ve just sold the most perfect cottage in Bishop Thornton and I’ll actually be really sad I won’t be going there any more. It has been a joy showing people.

“I’ve also got one due to complete next week and I’ve sold a couple off market.

“I’m really excited about it. I think Harrogate will be slower than London, but I am enjoying it and I love property.”

Ms Watt was brought up on Hookstone Road and moved to London in 1999.

She said:

“I was the administrator for a big corporate company. Unbeknown to me at the time my two managers there were setting up on their own, so they were out of the office all the time.

“Applicants would come in and say they had viewing books, so I told them to hop in my little Clio and drove them down to see the properties.

“I kept getting offers on them and I thought ‘I really love this’.”

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She went on to work for a number of property firms in the capital, including Featherstone Leigh, Hamptons International and Manors.

She said:

“One Saturday I kept getting calls from former clients asking where I had gone. I remember, I was driving and thinking ‘I can do this for myself. Why am I working for other people I’ve got the contacts, the knowledge and enthusiasm’.”

In 2010, she set up her own successful agency called Napier Watt in Mayfair.

Back to her roots

After selling the business, she went into property acquisition, before making the decision to move back to Harrogate to be closer to her parents.

After being unimpressed by the service when she was buying a property, she decided to launch her own firm.

She said:

“I was surprised at the level of service. Friends and family told me I should open an estate agency here as I would do well. So I thought ‘why not?’

“I started doing all the branding and paperwork and in March I was up and running.”

Ms Watt is focusing on sales, lettings, management and property acquisitions. She also works with interior designers and offers a global relocation service.

Female bosses

She said:

“I have noticed there don’t seem to be many female bosses of property firms up here. I am so pro women doing well.

“I was lucky enough to have some great mentors.

I went to Harrogate Grammar School and actually only got two GCSEs, because I’m just not academic. I just can’t retain things that I don’t find interesting.

“So I always tell clients I’m not taking notes, as I have photographic memory. I could draw a floor plan of a house I saw 20 years ago.

“As long as you have got a work ethic, you can do anything.”

Bettys marks highest ever Christmas sales

Bettys has reported its highest ever sales figures for a Christmas period with 2021 seeing a 37% year-on-year increase.

The family-owned company, with two cafes in Harrogate, described it as a “huge achievement” after facing financial and recruitment challenges during the covid pandemic.

Its five cafe tea rooms report a £1.6 million increase on previous years with similarly high numbers in its retail sales. All shops also exceeded retail targets.

The 102-year-old company received a 4.2% increase in online orders, with 40% of those from new customers.

In response managing director, Simon Eyles, said:

“The Bettys business has had to weather a few storms in its 102-year history.

“This year all the teams across the Bettys business have done a truly exceptional job in the face of the worst recruitment challenges we’ve known, and the continuing worries and concerns of the global covid-19 pandemic. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and cannot thank them enough.”

The business is still facing a recruitment a crisis and has been forced to continue with the shorter opening hours, which were brought in last August.

In Harrogate, the current opening hours are Monday to Friday 9.30-4pm, Saturday 9-5pm and Sunday 9-4pm.

It also made the decision to close one of its York stores this year. The 50-year-old store on Stonegate, known as Little Bettys, was closed as it was no longer “commercially viable”.

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