I joined Savills last year having started my property career in Ireland in the early Nineties against the backdrop of the Gulf crisis.

It was all hands to the pump back then and as an 18-year-old I pitched in on reception, on viewings and at the weekends, working what felt like round the clock but knowing I was very lucky to have a job. Tough times, brilliant experience, and a great opportunity to develop and grow in my chosen profession.

Five years later, I moved to London and to cut a long story short ended up being part of a management team that successfully grew a small estate agency firm from five city offices to 18. I mortgaged my flat and lived off a credit card for three years, investing everything into the business which we eventually sold in 2012. 

When we started out the market was buoyant but then came the credit crunch of 2008 and I learned at first hand the lessons of running a lean operation during a recession. It reinforced my belief in the value of great customer service and of standing out from the crowd. Now more than ever in this digital world, it’s all too easy to hide behind a computer screen. But property is personal and human contact essential.

So I suppose you could say I’ve picked up a thing or two about the market over the years and was delighted to be given the opportunity to bring my experience to Savills, where I’ve spent the last nine months or so expanding our prime core service across the capital.

What I love is the positivity and ‘can do’ attitude I see every day and the freedom to work knowing I’m surrounded by support, enthusiasm and expertise not just from residential colleagues, but from the one-stop-shop of national and international property consultancy that is Savills. 

And, while that makes it a great place to work, what it really means is the service we can offer our clients comes with that same level of problem solving, free thinking and experience. That’s valuable whenever anyone wants to buy or sell their home, but especially useful at times of uncertainty.

Voices of Experience

'Standing out from the crowd' is part of Voices of Experience, a series of blogs inspired by the Savills marketing campaign. In this series some of our most experienced agents will be sharing what they’ve learned about the property market over the decades.