Myddelton & Major

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Myddelton & Major's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Myddelton & Major is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

The Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett, MP

The Rt Hon Lord Eric Pickles, MP

19MYDDELTON & MAJOR |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

David Smith, Senior Partner

Our Salisbury office,

close to the cathedral

David Smith is senior partner at Myddelton & Major’s

Andover office, although the firm are better known and

have primarily existed in Salisbury for over 100 years. The

firm deliver property consultancy services across both residential

and commercial sectors, with a particular focus on sales,

lettings, and property management. Their expertise extends

to both commercial and residential development sectors, and

they provide these services to a wide range of corporate and

private clients. David discusses the Myddelton & Major journey,

and tells

The Parliamentary Review

more about their drive

todiversify.

At Myddelton & Major, we are the property all-rounders – the only sector we are

not actively involved in is agriculture but our farming clients recognise our advice

with regards to the conversion of farm buildings and development opportunities on

their estates.

We run friendly offices and want everyone at the firm to enjoy and engage with

their work. We have 30 staff across our two main offices – Andover and Salisbury –

and a commercial management office in Westbury.

An outward-looking local firm

Myddelton & Major first opened their doors in Salisbury in 1903, trading more in

the residential than the commercial sector. The original incarnation established

their niche as being a Salisbury-specific city-centre firm, focusing on the beautiful,

FACTS ABOUT

MYDDELTON & MAJOR

»Senior Partner: David Smith

»Managing Partner: Philip

Holford

»Established in 1903

»Based in Salisbury, Andover

and Westbury

»Services: Residential and

commercial property

consultancy

»No. of employees: 30

»EGI winners in 2018

»www.myddeltonmajor.co.uk

Myddelton & Major

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

20 | MYDDELTON & MAJOR

historic properties that now make up

the area known as The Close around

the cathedral.

Our local knowledge has always been

a point of real strength, and this is

just as much the case in Andover as it

is Salisbury. A significant proportion

of staff across both teams have

grown up within the city itself or on

its outskirts. This creates, firstly, a

real love for the place in which they

work, and secondly, a wonderful base

of knowledge. Both of these traits

permeate into the work they do and

inform the decisions they make.

That intimate understanding of the

local area is of paramount importance,

but we try to remain outward-facing

in all the work we do. We’re not, for

instance, afraid of taking on somebody

who has worked primarily in London,

as we believe that sharing knowledge

and expertise is an essential priority in

today’s modern world. We’re small,

and our key strength is undoubtedly

how well we know our patch, but we

recognise just how important it is to

keep moving forward and developing

all areas of the business.

A younger sector

The housing sector has changed

dramatically over the last few years,

as has the way it operates. Specialist

firms like us, alongside larger

organisations like Savills and Knight

Frank, are coming under threat

from the online-only players. The

younger generation is emerging, and

emerging fast, but we believe that

people and communication make the

difference in delivering successful

property transactions. People still like

to speak to an agent.

The generation of new, website-based

companies are very IT aware, and we

are seeking to emulate those levels

of IT standards. You can’t automate

expertise. We know that there are

more competitors than ever, but we

think that businesses like ours will

always have a market and a customer

base – service standards will remain

important going forward.

We have been adapting our business

practices to cope with such a

dynamic marketplace. We are also

encouraging our staff to use the

traditional methods of communication

to build client relationships. This

thereby ensures a more personal

service – which has proven to be most

successful. The sector is changing, and

we anticipate that good, productive

relationships will be more important

for our future prosperity than ever.

Salisbury

The events that transpired in Salisbury

on March 4 last year were disruptive,

in particular for the retail sector in the

city centre.

Managing Partner Philip Holford, based

in Salisbury, believes that those who

know the city appear to have been

reasonably unfazed by it – with regard

to property – and have continued to

buy and sell. This seems to be the

Solstice Park, just off the

A303

At Myddelton

& Major, we

are the

property all-

rounders

“

21MYDDELTON & MAJOR |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

attitude across both the commercial

and residential sectors; people are

taking on industrial units, and business

is continuing as it was prior, with

large-scale city centre residential

developments still being constructed.

External expenditure and investment

is still necessary. That said, however,

the prospect of a new shopping

development in The Maltings, by TH

Real Estate and Janus Henderson,

does give considerable uplift to those

wanting to invest further in Salisbury.

This is excellent – it shows a kind of

silent resilience and solidarity from the

people of this great and historic city.

The market – on a national

stage

Undoubtedly, the market has slowed

down in the last two years – parts of

London have been grinding to a halt,

and prices have been falling. There has

not been enough overseas investment,

and we all know why – the lack of

clarity and guidance from central

government regarding the referendum

decision since June 23, 2016, has left

everybody in limbosomewhat.

That said, while the capital has

suffered the financial brunt of Brexit,

both Salisbury and Andover remain

strong. We have seen positive

residential sales – country houses and

cottages in good locations, such as

Stockbridge in the Test Valley – and

while inner-city properties are not

quite as hot, the local markets remain

strong. Commercially, Andover itself

has seen a real vote of confidence

in Rich Food Products, an American

company, purchasing 15 acres of land

on The Andover Business Park. This

was for a new food production factory

which has recently been completed.

In our region, we have seen other

successful transactions, such as Birchall

Tea relocating their warehouse from

London into a 30,000-square foot

unit at Solstice Park, just off the A303.

This move, Philip Holford believes,

is a significant endorsement of the

business location on the A303. We

are still very much seeing business

and investment continuing as usual –

time will only tell whether this will be

reflected on a national level.

More than a century of

resilience and prosperity

I think that our future is stable and

secure. We celebrated our 115th

anniversary last year, and while there

will undoubtedly be some adversity

ahead – both regionally, nationally and

internationally – our firm has stood the

test of time before. I have no doubt

that it will do so again.

We believe there is more success on

the horizon. We offer essential qualities

which have proven themselves to be

invaluable for the long term, and our

service and advice continues to be of

the highest quality. I believe that if

you enjoy your job, continue to work

hard and satisfy clients, your business

will prosper and thrive – it really is

as simple as that. We care about

property. We care aboutpeople.

We care about

property. We

care about

people

“

Philip Holford, Managing

Partner

The River Test, the world-

famous trout fishing river

close to Stockbridge

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from the prime minister.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister