It is with joy and great pride that we are celebrating our 10 year birthday here at Radcliffe and Rust. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day running of the business when sometimes the days and weeks can seem long, but all of a sudden 10 years have passed and we are so proud of ourselves and our team to be where we are today. It would only be right to take a little trip down memory lane to, reminisce over the last 10 years.
I, David (Radcliffe) and my business partner, Richard (Rust) started out in the industry in 2005 and 2003 respectively, both working for large corporate estate agents. We knew that this was the right career path for us but we were not in the right environment to really thrive and excel. From there we knew that we wanted to start our own business, but this was obviously easier said than done. At the start of our journey, we approached a number of banks to lend us the money to open this business and it’s safe to say not all of these lenders had the same confidence and enthusiasm in our business plan (which started on the back of an envelope!) as we did, but eventually, we found the right lender and it was all systems go.
Our first office was unique to say the least, with crumbling walls and levels of damp that could never be fixed. It was our new home and we invested a lot of time (and white paint!) to make it our own. We completed a full office renovation which started in May 2011 and the office finally opened it’s doors in September 2011 (after a two month delay due to issues with a technical supplier – not ideal!).
From opening, we soon had 3 houses on the books and we completed on our first house sale 4 months later, in early 2012, which was a real pivotal moment. Since opening, we calculated we have given out keys to over 2,300 new property owners and tenants which fills us with pride. We were soon too busy for just the two of us and our first apprentice joined the company in early 2012. In our 10 years, we have had 6 apprentices start their estate agency careers with the majority of them still working in the industry now.
In July 2012 we received our first 5* All Agents review and now we have over 200 5* reviews, which we feel is a great achievement, showing honest and impartial opinions from our clients over the years. We feel very lucky that we have clients who have been with us since the very beginning, and continue to enjoy working with us as a company. Knowing these clients are hugely satisfied with the service we provide, makes all the effort of building the business up from scratch, so worthwhile.
In 2021 we started our partnership with Epic3 where we will plant trees for every property which we complete a sale on. We feel very humbled to be helping the environment and creating a healthier planet not only for us but also future generations.
Further to our (hundreds!) of five star reviews, we are so incredibly delighted to be an award winning company, with the most recent award being the best Estate Agent in Cambridge at the 2021 UK Property Awards. This is a huge achievement and we will strive to continue filling up our awards cabinet.
As a business, we have seen a number of changes over the years in how we operate – from paper diaries to online diary management, advertising in the Cambridge Evening News to posting properties on social media (and of course websites including Zoopla and Rightmove), to advances in camera and photo quality, revolutionizing the way we market properties. We have embraced each and every change and have looked at them as new opportunities to grow and thrive.
I think it is important to note that we truly are a local company and will, wherever possible, work with other local companies to try and boost the local economy. Our IT services, website hosting and our artwork designer (to name but a few) are all local to Cambridgeshire.
Finally, Richard I and the team would be no where without our fantastic and loyal customers. The team and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, we would be no where without you all!