Knight Frank property consultant strikes out alone with new firm
A former Senior Buying Consultant from the buying arm of Knight Frank has decided the time is right to establish her own boutique property consultancy. Thea Carroll Property Consultancy will focus on delivering impartial, strategic advice via search, acquisition, rental, disposal and investment landlord services, amid sustained uncertainty in the UK property market.
With the uncertainty around when the UK will leave the EU and the terms under which it may happen persisting well into the back end of 2019, the property market is suffering from sustained jitters. UK house prices continued to “tread water” in July as they slipped 0.2%, month-on-month. At the same time, property sales have fallen by 16.5% year-on-year and rumours of a base rate cut before December could create further confusion for people weighing up whether to move house or re-mortgage.
With the property market in the UK sitting in such a precarious position, launching a new consulting firm relying on clients in the sector could be seen as something of a gamble. However, it has done little to put Thea Carroll off from going it alone, and founding her own consultancy doing just that. In fact, she has argued, the buyer’s market is ripe with opportunities for new consulting firms.
“Whilst some think this could be the darkest hour for property,” she told industry news source Estate Agent Today, “I suspect that this may also be the best time to launch a new business into what may be an uncertain market, but one I already know is exposing huge opportunities.”
Following a spell as a Negotiator at Marsh and Parsons, Carroll made her first foray into consulting work by joining The London Search Company. Having become a Senior Buying Consultant during her three years of work with the firm, Carroll moved to Lagardere as an Investment Consultant in 2017. A year later, she joined The Buying Solution, the buying arm of property consultancy Knight Frank, spending two years there as a Senior Buying Consultant. During that time she acquired and rented some £43 million in property for clients, ranging in price from £1 million to £20 million.
Now, having bolstered her property consulting experience at the firm, which is ranked second in the country by property industry publication Prime Resi, Carroll has decided the time is right to launch a boutique firm. Thea Carroll Property Consultancy will focus entirely on a number of hand-selected high-net-worth clients. The company's core aim is to deliver intuitive, informed and independent advice that aligns with clients' best interests at all times.
The move comes as the deflated pound resulting from Brexit has actually seen interest from overseas investors spike. In order to tap into this, the boutique is reportedly backed by “a panel of thought-leaders, economists and financiers, clients receive market-leading, impartial, strategic advice”, who will help Carroll to deliver search, acquisition, rental, disposal and investment landlord advisory services.
Commenting on her new venture, Carroll enthused, “With seven clients already retained and huge support from American connections, we’re going to be concentrating on the best properties in prime central London in the £1 million to £35 million market. With the Sterling coming under pressure, the lure of London remains strong for many Americans who still see the Old Country as their preferred second home.”