The founders of the original
practices of Bairstow Eves were Mr. Charles Eve, who
commenced business at Goodmayes, Essex in 1899 as C.
Eves & Son, and Mr. Stanley J. Bairstow, who traded
under his own name from an office in Ilford from 1926.
In 1953 the two practices amalgamated under the name
of Bairstow Eves and Son and continued trading as a
residential estate agency partnership from both offices.
In 1956 the first “new” sales office was
opened in Kings Road, Brentwood by Mr. John Bairstow
(son of Stanley) who became the senior partner and the
main driving force of the business and responsible for
what in those days was an ambitious expansion programme
which involved both the opening of green field offices
and acquisitions of other small family practices in
Essex, London and Hertfordshire. By 1981 Bairstow Eves
had become a limited company and one of the largest
and most successful estate agencies in the south east
of England, with 33 branches and over 300 staff.
In 1982 the company created its own bit of history
by becoming the first estate agency practice to be listed
on the Stock Exchange.
After the flotation the pace of the expansion increased
dramatically with over 120 more offices in 14 counties
being added in the next four years.
In March 1986 Hambros Bank acquired the controlling
interest in Bairstow Eves PLC with a view to making
further acquisitions and becoming the major estate agency
chain with a nationwide coverage under the Group banner
of Hambro Countrywide Group PLC, which has more recently
become Countrywide plc.
Countrywide plc, the United Kingdom’s largest
estate agency group, now have over 800 offices and are
represented in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Whilst the Group philosophy is wherever possible to
retain the local brand names, when, for whatever reason
the local name cannot be used the Group recognises that
its most powerful and commercially recognised name is
that of Bairstow Eves and rebrand accordingly. As a
result the famous red, black and white sign boards that
have been part of the Essex scene for over 100 years
are now appearing nationwide from as far afield as the
Lake District, the North-East and Kent.
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