Fine & Country says Mayfair office stays - but more focus on B2B

Fine & Country and the Guild of Property Professionals are to keep their current Mayfair office on London’s Park Lane - contrary to some industry speculation - although they are to relocate the single negotiator dealing with direct customer enquiries.

Fine & Country chief executive David Lindley has told Estate Agent Today that far from closing the office, a “six figure sum” is to be spent on refurbishing it in the near future, to accommodate “the growing number of activities” undertaken by the business-to-business side of Fine & Country and the Guild.

There had been speculation from some that the office would close, as a possible casualty of the acquisition of the Guild and Fine & Country by online agency easyProperty, in a deal worth - according to different sources - between £30m and £60m.

However the one business-to-consumer activity in the office - marketing some of the most high-end and internationally-appealling properties on the Fine & Country books - will be devolved to the eight other London offices.

Although the Park Lane window of the Mayfair office will remain as a showcase with property details, the negotiator currently handling enquiries will operate from another London office.

Jon Cooke, the chief executive of eProp Services Limited - the parent firm of the Guild and Fine & Country following the acquisition - will be based at the Mayfair office, as will the company’s chief finance officer.

Otherwise, no easyProperty activity will be based there, says Lindley.