First off Neil, can you tell us a bit about your background, what you did prior to Butler & Stag?
After leaving school I spent three years in the city, working for an investment bank. Being stuck behind a desk for long hours wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be, so when my now business partner (Michael Woolley) told me how well he was doing as an estate agent, my mind was made up. I started working for an independent agent in Hackney, East London, joining Michael in 2001 and progressing quickly up the company ladder to run my own office in Stratford by the age of 24.
From here I realised that being a Manager wasn’t enough and I wanted to own my own agency.
So how did Butler & Stag come about?
Michael and I were both running successful offices for the same firm and we realised that our stock was high but progression was limited as the company was headed by four directors. We also felt that a fresh approach was needed in the property market, a more customer-focus driven agency who put their clients’ best interests before the fee.
Our first offices opened in 2012 and the rest, as they say, is history.
What was/is Butler & Stag’s point of difference from other Estate Agents?
Our three biggest assets are our staff, brand and marketing. We invest heavily in staff training and marketing, both of which provide positive customer experiences. Our brand is seen as established and traditional, we don’t pigeonhole ourselves at either end of the market and welcome all business.
Our staff are knowledgeable and likeable, which is important, as our industry carries a stigma of greedy agents in it for themselves. We work hard to change the stereotype and the good people that we are generally shines through.
As joint founders and directors, do you and Michael bring different qualities to the business?
Michael and I are very close, we have known each other since we were four and six years old, first meeting at Chingford Rugby Club.
We share that same ethos of continuing to grow the company and complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
How has Butler & Stag evolved over the years?
We started as a London agency in 2012, and at the time our vision was to grow the brand from East to West London.
But things can happen outside of your control in terms of market activity driven by government-lead changes, so we had to be adaptable and do what was best to secure the company’s long-term future.
Shortly after the opening of our second office in Bow in 2015, the London market began to slow down and we spotted a gap in the market in West Essex. Our West Essex office was opened in 2017.
Most recently you’ve opened a Chingford Office, can you tell me more about this aspect of the business?
We are a progressive business not content in standing still and Chingford is where Michael and I are from, where we first met at the rugby club all those years ago in the late 80’s.
Bringing our brand back to the area of our childhood is a dream come true.
We launched our Chingford department in August 2020 and we are delighted with how well we have been received.
As a company, you come across as very community minded, can you tell us about that?
We feel it’s important to give back to the charities and organisations within the areas we serve. Not only are they great causes which we love to support, it’s a way of showing prospective clients that we do genuinely care about them and we aren’t just in it for the fee!
Finally, where would you like to see Butler & Stag in five years’ time?
To continue our market share in the areas we operate, being recognised as agents who are honest, have integrity and who put their clients before themselves. I have given up predicting the rest as you never know what’s around the corner, with Brexit and Covid being the two most recent obstacles to overcome.
How would you describe the company’s culture?
We are one team working together to be the best we can be whilst having fun along the way. We spend more time at work than we do with our families, so it has to be an enjoyable environment for everyone. We are also a social group and would regularly meet up outside of office hours for drinks and activities. Covid has made this impossible recently but we are looking forward to normality returning soon.
Can you sum up the service Butler & Stag provide in one sentence?
Fast, efficient, friendly, pro-active but never pushy!
Rest assured we will adapt to whatever may be thrown our way and we will be stronger when we come out the other side.
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