AN estate agency is celebrating its fifth anniversary by recording its best ever month for sales.

The Purple Property Shop was started by husband and wife team, Matt and Sally Jones. They were both working in the NHS – Sally was a senior operational manager and Matt an accountant – but had a bad experience with an estate agency when buying their first property together and decided to bring NHS values and customer service to this field in their own business.

They had an office in Seymour Road, Astley Bridge, for two years before moving around the corner to shop premises in Blackburn Road three years ago. The agency also has premises in Bolton Street, Bury.

“We found that employing those values and customer service did pay off,” stated Mr Jones. “Clients appreciated the personal service and we found ways of giving them the best possible value.”

The winning formula has not only meant that today they are Bolton’s second largest estate agents but also brought them business awards, including Best New Business in the 2012 Bolton and Bury Business Awards and thebestof  brand’s Best Loved Estate Agent in the UK in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

The Purple Property Shop now has a total staff of seven, has sold more than 1,000 properties since it began and has around 1,000 testimonials from satisfied customers.  Part of this success is attributed to the role of Customer Service Manager held by Lynne Mason to ensure that customers are kept up to date throughout every step of the sale process.

It has just had its best ever month in August when it beat its own previous record by 24% to sell properties across the range from £50,000 to £400,000. It has also built up its lettings’ side exponentially.

The agency employs a professional photographer in Danielle Broadfoot, offers free floorplans, accompanied viewings and is open 362 days a year.

“In spite of the rise of online estate agencies, we have found that people  still like to talk to someone face to face and know that, if there is a problem, there is someone accessible to sort it out,” explained Mr Jones.

“We have created a budget range of services (from just £599 including VAT) because we are in a very competitive market, but the levels of customer service are always the same.”