Inverness chartered surveyors and property consultants Graham + Sibbald celebrate 50 years
Graham + Sibbald, Chartered Surveyors and Property Consultants have been operating out of Inverness since 1973 meaning this year marks their 50th Anniversary! Since opening 50 years ago the office has seen the firm change significantly, with an offering of 24 different service lines, over 250 staff and 21 office across the UK.
In June 2022 Graham + Sibbald acquired the established independent Chartered Surveying firm of Keningtons, taking over its two offices in Swindon and central London. These two offices have been the recent focus of expansion for the firm allowing the reach of professional property services to national clients across the UK.
John MacBean, Partner within the Inverness office told us, “Whilst the firm is growing and entering new markets our heartbeat is dealing in the Scottish cities, Inverness, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. We are long established in these locations and have unsurpassed local market knowledge. Growth in these established locations represents a different challenge for the firm but, with a proven track record and a client focused approach we are making improvements to our client offering and improving our market share.”
With a headcount in Inverness of 20, Graham + Sibbald covers agency, valuation, residential, building surveying, asset services, hotel + leisure, planning and rating services to name a few in Inverness and across the Highlands. The office is continuing to thrive and this is shown through the 50 years of success.
Asset Services- Frazer Mackay
Graham + Sibbald (G+S) have a well-established Asset Services team that operates across the whole of the UK. Within the Inverness team there is Robbie Davidson (Associate), Frazer Mackay (Property Manager) and Emma Macleod (Property Manager), the team deliver a range of services to clients throughout the Highlands.
Frazer has worked at G+S for 6 years, he explained to us:
“There have been significant changes within the department throughout my time at G+S which has allowed us to broaden our service lines, adapt and grow. This has seen our Asset Services team expand from its network of local offices to offering bespoke services throughout the UK. Underlining our commitment to good communications and transparency, we allocate each client with a dedicated property manager and a centrally based accounts manager, giving them consistent and informed points of contact. We also operate a leading estate management software system to ensure the effectiveness and accurate flow of information.”
The team are currently Property Management Consultants on the Greenhouse, Inverness. Frazer took us through the process of this job and detailed how they assist this client:
The Greenhouse, Inverness
• Developed 2009 by Highland Business Suites
• Twenty fully refurbished modern office Spaces
• A range of tenants including Solicitors, Architects and Surveyors.
Graham + Sibbald were appointed Managing Agents of The Greenhouse in April 2018.
Since our appointment we have worked closely with the staff at The Greenhouse to ensure tenants are receiving the level of service expected, closely monitoring expenditure to ensure costs remain within service charge estimate. As well as the service charge management, we also provided rent reviews, lease renewals, invoicing/collection of rent and offer a full range of building surveying services.
Julie Lister, Director, Highland Business Suites says: “We have had Graham + Sibbald as a managing agents of The Green House for the past 5 years and have been extremely satisfied with the service we have received. We have had the same agent which has helped to gain a smooth working relationship for ourselves and our tenants. I can’t recommend the company and the team enough.”
Residential- Neil Cromarty
At Graham + Sibbald we are proud to be recognised as one of the leading Chartered Surveyors for Residential Surveys in Scotland. Although we have grown in size and in service lines our Residential Surveys is an offering that is only offered to our Scottish clients. We are a trusted name in the market, acting for all major Building Societies, Banks and Lending/Financial Institutions and are listed on all the major lenders’ panels. Our valuations, surveys and other reports are recognised and accepted by all key mortgage providers.
Having an office in Inverness for 50 years has meant our team has worked through recessions, inflation, Covid-19 and everything in between! They have kept up with the unpredictable housing market and continue to provide the best service with the most up to date market knowledge. Our Residential team consist of Neil Cromarty, Kyle Davidson and Issy McRae and include some of the most experienced Valuers and Surveyors in the business, our team are highly trained and are registered to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
When using our Inverness team you can always guarantee that they are friendly, approachable and helpful.
It’s a service you need + Advice you can trust.
Agency- Kenny McKenzie
Graham + Sibbald are extremely active in the Highlands and Islands and are widely recognised as one of the most dynamic agents in Scotland. We are responsible for the disposal and acquisition of commercial property in the region and have a large team team of 5.
From retail units in Caithness to industrial warehouses in Fort William, we cover a large geographical area and different types of property. During our 50 years, we have been involved in some of the highest profile deals taking place in the Highlands & Islands over industrial, office, retail, and investment sectors.
As well as disposing of property on a letting or sale basis, we act for a number of clients in an acquisition capacity.
Looking to purchase or lease a commercial property can be a daunting process but the first hurdle is finding the right one. At the outset, once your requirements are understood, we would provide a report highlighting suitable options in the market. Given our expert knowledge, we can provide ideas and opportunities that are not actively marketed. In the majority of cases, the property which is ‘off market’ is the right one. Accompanied viewings would be carried out and then engagement with the landlord / their representative to agree a deal on market terms. We would then follow the acquisition through the legal process to be on hand for any issues / queries which can arise.
Using Graham + Sibbald for the acquisition of your property can help avoid any surprises and minimise the risks of buying in a complex market.
We are grateful to all our clients for entrusting us with their property assets for the last 50 years and look forward to continuing our strong relationships for the next 50 years and beyond.
Harry Gow- Case Study (Andrew Rose)
Our Director, Andrew Rose was promoted to his current position in April 2023. Andrew continues to support a wide array of clients with their commercial property interests.
Culloden Foods Ltd t/a Harry Gow is one such local business who he continues to act for in providing property services such as rent review, disposal and valuation advice. Harry Gow also utilise the in house Building Surveying department, being able to utilise more than one service means that G+S provide them with an efficient and well rounded knowledge from our multi-disciplined offering.
Drew Logie, General Manager commented “We enjoy working with G+S as they are very approachable and professional in all aspects of their dealings with our company. We look forward to continuing to work with them in the future and would highly recommend them to others.”
Hotel + Leisure- Peter Seymour
At Graham + Sibbald we have always had a strong advisory role within the Hotel + Leisure sector providing well-reasoned advice on the valuation of assets. Since 2017 the Hotel + Leisure team has been focused on growing our market share of the acquisition and sale of these assets. This growth has been a mix of very experienced agents and valuers who have dedicated their professional life to the Hotel + Leisure market as well as developing graduates and apprentice level staff.
The market for rural and tourist located Hotels has never been stronger. The sector’s ability to bounce back after Covid within Scotland means that market conditions are arguably better in Scotland than the rest of the UK. The Hotel + Leisure team have, working closely with the Inverness office managed to sell The Royal Golf Hotel, Dornoch; The Royal Marine Hotel, Brora; The Plockton Inn, Plockton; The Royal Hotel in Ullapool, the Garve Hotel, The Grant Arms Hotel and Grantown on Spey. We are working on several “off-market” disposals of similar assets at the moment including an asset in the centre of the city and one on the NC500. We are also delighted to announce we have been appointed to sell the Heathmount Hotel on Kingsmill Road where the vendor is looking to retire after dedicating over 20 years to the Hotel they feel now is the time to step away and allow someone else to take the reins of this institution within the city.
We are passionate about Hotels + Leisure and we have the knowledge to support it.
Building Surveying- Andrew Lyle
Graham + Sibbald (G+S) have a well-established Technical Services Team covering the whole of the UK. Technical Services includes, Building Surveying Services, Project Management, Architecture and Cost Consultancy. In Inverness we have a team of three Chartered Building Surveyors consisting of Mark Esslemont as Director, Andrew Lyle and Lucy Fraser as Associates, and Scott MacBean as a Student Building Surveyor. The team delivers a wide range of services to both private and public sector clients throughout the whole of the north of Scotland. We are currently working on projects from Campbeltown in the south, to the northern isles including the Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland.
The main Building Surveying services we typically provide from Inverness include:
• Contract Administration for maintenance, refurbishment and reinstatement projects
• Project Monitoring for lenders on new build developments including housing and industrial
• Building Surveys on both domestic and non-domestic properties
• Technical Inspections and defect analysis
• Dilapidations and schedule of conditions
• Building Warrant applications
• Pre and post construction surveys
• Energy Performance Certification for non-domestic properties
Currently Mark Esslemont is working on projects for both private and public sector clients including care home upgrade works in Easter Ross, along with RAAC inspections for public sector and private clients including Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Lucy Fraser is coordinating maintenance and upgrade works to the Scottish Water portfolio across Scotland, with Scott MacBean assisting the Scotland wide surveying team. Andrew and Mark are both fully qualified Energy Assessors and prepare Energy Performance Certificates and Section 63 assessments on a wide range of commercial properties including care homes, offices, shops, hotels, industrial units, schools, doctors surgeries etc.
Contact details:
4 Ardross Street
Inverness, IV3 5NN
T: 01463 236977
E: inverness@g-s.co.uk
