Mid Devon estate agents break new ground

Award-winning South West Estate Agent Helmores of Crediton are celebrating an expansion of their firm. In recognition of the changing face of estate agency and growing demand on their expert services, Helmores have developed an in-house Land and Planning Department.

One year ago Helmores Land and Planning Limited was set up by the partners of Helmores and  Jake Gresswell, a qualified General Practice Chartered Surveyor. Jake had been working in the residential development industry in the UK for over 20 years. 12 months down the line and Helmores has over 50 instructions for land and property worth over £120,000,000, from single plots to a site of 385 new homes.

Jake works alongside Associate Partner George Clover, who heads up the New Homes Department to provide a new one-stop-shop service offering a full package of consultancy through Devon, Cornwall and Somerset for land acquisition, planning advice, market appraisals, land valuation for marketing purposes, a full new homes service, aerial photography, branding, design, sales and marketing, and PR.

As you can see Helmores is breaking new ground with their in-house Land and Planning Department and is now handling a multi-million pound portfolio of land right across the region, for clients throughout the UK.

Jake believes the benefits of providing a land and planning service in-house to clients and landowners are extensive; “We are able to consult with our clients to significantly maximise the value of their land and property by identifying different planning and development options open to them.” This is achieved through Jake’s industry experience as well as dedicated and diligent research into the commercial viability of each project.

Jake’s experience in property development is wide-ranging and includes the acquisition and sale of development land, land valuations, planning project management and development consultancy.  This experience has a pedigree that sits well with investors in the expanding market in which Helmores thrives. From private housing developments to care homes, barn conversions to high density mixed tenure developments, Jake has dealt with them all.

“I have worked on projects for over a thousand residential units in Central London for Plc developers at one end of the spectrum and single house developments at the other” says Jake. I set up a development company with a former colleague which developed out a number of sites in Southern England.  “I found taking a project from its inception through to handing the keys over to the purchaser at completion immensely satisfying and utterly terrifying at the same time, particularly with your own money at stake, thorough due diligence and risk reduction is the key!!”  Jake now uses the knowledge and experience he has gained in his career in the development sector in his role as land consultant and agent.

Although for most of his career Jake has been based in the UK, his work has taken him abroad to USA on a number of occasions and during a sabbatical in the Southern Hemisphere Jake ended up working for the South Australian Government as a Development Manager, managing over 150 projects.

Jake now relishes the challenge of expanding the Land and Planning department within Helmores, who operate from their Mid Devon base on an increasingly broad marketplace.

Partner at Helmores, Rob Stoyle said; “Jake works closely with developers and land owners, finding, valuing and selling land and property with or without the benefit of planning permission.  Together with our associated consultants, he helps our clients optimise the development potential of their land and property. He will also often work with small residential plots that have failed to get planning permissions in the past, but with guidance and advice have been able to successfully apply second time around.”

Helmores has always recognised the way in which its market place changes and has evolved to suit, That is why the firm is England’s oldest Estate Agency. he establishment of the new Land and Planning Department is a major new step in Helmores’ 21st Century evolution and bodes well for the future.