Property buying agency The Search Partnership, which started just three years ago, is expanding into property and estate management with the launch of The Land Management Partnership Ltd. Steven Fieldsend, who joins from Strutt & Parker where he was a partner, will be the Managing Director of the new venture.
The Search Partnership is based in Boroughbridge and was launched in 2015 by two of the region’s leading property agents, Toby Milbank and Tom Robinson, who have more than 36 years combined agency experience in the North. Steven, who comes from a farming family, has been a part of Strutt & Parker’s Yorkshire land management department for the last eight years.
The Search Partnership has helped many client’s source houses, sporting estates, farms and land in Yorkshire and the North. The new business will provide continuity to clients who need help managing their land and property. The majority of the firm’s clients already live in Yorkshire (39%), with 29% coming from London, 18% from the south of England and 14% from abroad.
Director Toby said:
We started the business because we knew that the term ‘buying agent’ was mainly unknown in the North, but many buyers in London and the South would not consider starting a search without employing a buying agent. There was a gap that needed to be filled. Often discreetly finding off market rural properties, land and estates for clients from across the country, the business has gone from strength to strength over the last three years. Steven’s appointment will allow us to expand our service offering further due his considerable experience as a land agent.
Steven said:
Having managed my own portfolio of rural estates and farms for a number of years, working for private individuals, long-term land-owning families, large institutions and a number of Trusts, I have gained a wide-range of experience in this specialised area.
As a registered valuer with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, I have also carried out many Red Book valuations, undertaken compulsory purchase order work and provided strategic property and estate management services.
I decided to start The Land Management Partnership alongside Toby and Tom’s existing business because I have been really impressed with their business and how much they have achieved. It is exciting working for a smaller business where I can see projects through from start to finish. It is more personal than working in a corporate environment, allowing me to give clients far more of my time.
As part of his new role, Steven will be managing The Sawley Hall estate near Ripon, which was recently acquired on behalf of clients by The Search Partnership. Steven will also be working for a number of farmers, land owners and commercial property owners.
Steven said:
Many clients live outside the area but their property, estate or land needs comprehensive daily management, but for others it’s more of a joint approach, where they are in full control, but can contact me for specialist advice and guidance on anything from letting out farm cottages through to managing woodland.
Steven is an Examiner and Fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (FAAV) – and President in 2018 of the North Yorkshire and South Durham Association, a Registered Valuer and Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) and sits on the Yorkshire Committee of the Agricultural Law Association.
