Member Article

Seaham-based lettings company to rebrand and move into property sales

A growing lettings company is putting down roots in estate agency services, due to increasing demand from customers.

Seaham-based lettings company Interlet North East, which is owned by The Castledene Group, is moving into property sales, and is being rebranded as Castledene Sales and Lettings to reflect the wider range of services on offer.

The company has made the decision to roll out a sales service across each branch following the success of The Castledene Group’s first estate agency, which opened in mid 2014 in Easington has since exceeded sales expectations by more than 40 per cent each month.

Interlet North East, which employs seven people, has recruited an initial sales negotiator in Seaham and will appoint two further members of staff by the end of the year. Its current turnover is £280,000, which – it is anticipated – will increase to £350,000 in Castledene Sales and Lettings’ first year.

Ashley Chaffey, branch manager at Interlet North East, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer a wider range of services to our customers as Castledene Sales and Lettings. We were regularly being asked if we could provide a sales service – not only by landlords but also by passing trade, so it was the natural next step for us to take.

“We have a very good name in the lettings industry due to our unique systems and highly trained staff, and we know that this will translate well into estate agency work. The success that we’ve seen at the Easington branch proves that there is a clear demand for the standard of service that The Castledene Group provides.

“The difference with us is that we are very proactive in the industry, which we believe has contributed hugely to our growth. We will be taking this proactive ethos into sales to ultimately benefit our clients.”

The Castledene Group’s managing director John Paul said: “We’re very proud of our team’s performance in our first sales operation in Easington. The results are far surpassing the figures we originally anticipated, and we’re confident that we will see a similar outcome following the launch of Castledene Sales and Lettings.

“Our employees always work hard to combine sound professional advice and extensive local knowledge with the latest digital systems - and it’s proving to be a winning formula.

“2015 is set to be our busiest year yet, as we’re preparing to open two further branches by May, and we plan to purchase another estate agency in the coming months.”

The Castledene Group, which employs 35 people, was founded in 2008 and has a network of branches across the region, managing more than 2,000 properties. It was crowned the UK’s best lettings agency at last year’s Sunday Times Lettings Awards, marking the first time in the prestigious event’s five-year history that a business outside London won the title.

As well as being announced as the overall winner, Castledene scooped three Gold awards in the categories of Best Training and Development Lettings Agency, Best Medium Northern Lettings Agency, and Best UK Medium Lettings Agency.

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