Property Shop, the popular local estate agent with branches in Accrington and Burnley, are celebrating a fantastic 20 years in business in 2022. They started out in business buying, developing and selling houses, then the business has flourished from there.
Steven Chippendale, the Managing Director of Property Shop, spent his early career in hospitality, managing a series of bars. The sale of one of his bars gave him the opportunity to invest in his first project, a terraced house at 95 Stanley Street, Accrington for just £11,000. Just over a year later, he had fully renovated the house and sold to an investor for £24,000. He still proudly has the For Sale sign for that property!
Dealing in property meant he required a gas engineer, and had luckily grown up in Baxenden with one – Paul Allen. Paul’s son Jamie was working in house maintenance, and Steven and Jamie decided to go into partnership together, buying, renovating and selling houses – and Property Shop was born. Jamie’s dad Paul continued to work for the new firm, doing plumbing and gas work. A former pub manager for Steven, Sarah, now runs their Accounts department and her future husband, James, was taken on as an apprentice and is now their Gas Engineer.
Between 2003 and 2006, Property Shop were buying and selling houses every two weeks. They employed a 15 strong maintenance team, and Steven estimates he spent at least a day a week just dealing with solicitors. In 2007 they bought their current Accrington premises, 11 Blackburn Road and have since purchased number 13 and made the two into one large shop front and offices.
When the global financial crisis hit, they diversified their business and became a lettings agency – managing properties for other landlords. The rental market was strong and they continued to add over 100 properties to their management per year. Property Shop now manage over 1000 properties in the local area, and are the largest letting agency in East Lancashire.
They have also moved into the sales and commercial side of the property market, and that has also flourished – enabling them to open a branch on Grimshaw Street, Burnley in 2021 to expand their reach in East Lancashire.
Steven Chippendale, Managing Director of Property Shop, said: “We’ve got a great team here, and lots of us have been together a long time – Property Shop really has gone from strength to strength thanks to our great staff. You only have to read our reviews to see how people value our service!”
Property Shop are the local property experts, with branches in Burnley and Accrington. Independent and family owned with a team of 30, they run a sales, lettings and commercial agency giving them breadth and depth in the local property market. You can see more on propertyshopltd.com and book in for a valuation.
