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Readings Managing Director, Will Ravenhill, celebrates 25 years with the company this January. Here’s 5 minutes worth of questions and answers with him:
Q. 25 years is a long time with the same company Will. What do you remember out your first day at PG Reading, as the firm was called then?
A. I won’t lie to you,I was quite shocked! I’d been with Spencers for 10 years before joining PGR and had been used to a much more corporate environment. I joined Readings to set up the sales department and joined my Father, John and David Johnson. I remember sitting at my desk in a dusty old chair with holes in it, in a fairly dusty old office and being told that the staff toilets were in the next door YMCA! I remember thinking “what have I done?!” However, the challenge of setting up a new department and being an independent Agent was too great to ignore. Wow-we’ve come a long way since then!
Q. You must have seen plenty of changes in the property market since that day in January 1998.
A. Absolutely. There was no advertising on the internet then. The Leicester Mercury Saturday Property Guide was the “bible” back then. There was always a mad rush to get our latest new listings into print at the end of the week. While there are lots of things that I miss about Agency during that period, I don’t miss that!
Q. Readings has grown a lot and been very successful in that 25 years. What do you put that down to?
A. Strategic mergers with Norman Hope and Mann in 2005 and Peter James Estates in 2011 meant we were able to join forces with like minded property professionals from both these highly respected firms. Our ethos has always been to offer honest, professional advice with a smile on our faces and employ the best staff possible. This has helped us grow into one of the largest independent local firms of Estate Agents and Chartered Surveyors. This wide range of services that we offer seems to have struck a cord within both the professional community here in Leicester and the wider general public. Most of our business comes from referral and recommendation, so we must be doing something right!
Q. Finally, when you’re not at work, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
A. I’m an enthusiastic runner and a member of the Huncote Harriers running club. I also enjoy following cricket, Leicester Tigers and Leicester City. Cooking and spending time with my wife and (when they’re around!) my 2 grown up sons. Travel and reading are also keen interests.
