John D Wood & Co.

History

John D Wood & Co. was founded in 1872 by John Daniel Wood, a remarkable man who started the company at the age of 23 and finally retired in 1928. The first premises of the company were in Mount Street, London W1, on the site now occupied by an island with a fountain opposite the entrance to the Connaught Hotel.

The company first advertised in Country Life in the early 1900's, an arrangement that continues to this day. John D Wood developed his practice with considerable success after the first world war with the company regularly taking instructions on the finest houses and country estates throughout Great Britain. At this time properties were advertised over the entire back page of The Times. This era included the sale of Dorchester House, Park Lane, for £400,000 to the McAlpine family who rebuilt it as the Dorchester Hotel.

In 1930 John D Wood and his then partners moved to headquarters in Berkeley Square where the firm remained until the late 1980's. Commercial and development work became an important part of the company's business in the 1950's and 1960's followed by an important step in the central London residential field when the Chelsea Green sales office opened in 1966. Further growth resulted in a network of offices in London and the south of England.

In 1987 the commercial side of the company separated and the Residential and Agricultural arm was floated on the London Stock Exchange. In 1997 the listed company was acquired by Countrywide Assured Group plc, the largest estate agency group in Europe. In 2007 Countrywide itself was acquired by New York based Apollo Management.

Today John D Wood & Co. has fourteen London offices, six country offices and associated offices throughout the south of England, our name being synonymous with high quality property and an unrivalled level of service.

Our range of services include the sale and acquisition of houses and apartments in London; the sale and acquisition of houses and cottages in the country and county towns; residential lettings and property management; short lets providing serviced apartments in London; country lettings; land and new homes; investment; agriculture; a full surveying service and advice on leasehold enfranchisement and freehold acquisition.

John D Wood & Co. (Residential & Agricultural) Ltd.
Registered Office. 140 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BN.
Registered in England No.2349482

Ethos and Values

The values and experience of our staff set us apart
says Peter Young, Managing Director of John D Wood & Co.

Anyone who wishes to work for John D Wood & Co. has to fulfil a number of important criteria and pass certain tests. In recruiting staff we only accept the very best because for us to be successful we must differentiate ourselves from the competition. We therefore have to recruit the right calibre of people, people who need to understand what we are offering in terms of a long and successful career in property and, just as importantly, what we want from them. Therefore prior to appointment all permanent employees are ultimately seen by me so there is no misunderstanding.

As a company we must adhere to the tried and tested old-fashioned values of integrity, efficiency, politeness and going the extra mile. We must always give our clients sound advice, putting their interests first, even if it means we do not earn a fee. Coupled with this we must be at the forefront of technology, presenting our clients' properties to the widest possible audience, efficiently and in the best possible way, thus attracting the very best buyers and tenants. We have always been innovators of technology, commissioning and designing the software the majority of central London agents now use. We were one of the first agents to have a website; the first agent to have interactive mapping on their site and the first to advertise our clients' properties on the widest selection of property portals.

Good estate agency is an art as well as science and to be successful the negotiators must be able to not only accurately value property, but also to have the style and flair to bring about the successful conclusion of the sale backed up by a strong marketing and public relations team.

The average age of our employees is 38 years and many of our staff have been with us for many years. When dealing with higher value properties it is essential the negotiators and managers have experience as they will be helping, guiding and advising on what has to be one of the most important financial decisions anyone makes. When we recruit staff, we want them to stay for a long term career with the older and wiser heads mentoring, training and bring them on.

My greatest pleasure is using my experience to advise old clients and their children, some of whom were not even born when I joined the company in 1978. However my most important job is recruiting and mentoring our staff. They should only join us if they want a career, as anything less is of little value to them, to us or to our clients. It is well known my formative years were spent in the Army. The personal discipline and values instilled at Sandhurst, where the motto is 'Serve to Lead', provide a lifelong set of values which are applied across the company. These values are the foundation of the company and help differentiate us from the competition.