There was a "Mr
Mann", Frederick Charles Thomas Mann, who was a
qualified surveyor and respected in the local community
of Woking in Surrey. However, Frederick Mann did not
actually establish the company.
A Mr Dowsett originally formed the organisation now
known as Mann Countrywide. Dowsett at one time connected
with insurance, opened as an estate agent in a small
office in Guildford Road, Woking in 1891. He started
the business from scratch and in the early days, spent
the majority of his time writing touting and canvassing
letters to local landowners. He then placed small advertisements
in the local newspapers in the form of 'wanted' adverts.
His methods worked and he began securing instructions.
He would then write to possible interested purchasers
in an effort to try and secure sales.
In the late 1800's, Woking was still very much a small
village and relatively unknown. In those days, the only
real point of interest and perhaps Woking's main claim
to fame was Brookwood Cemetery, a few miles away, being
the largest in Europe. It could be said that Woking
initially owed its growth to the cemetery, as the first
rail communications were from there to Brookwood. But
for Dowsett & Mann, there were far greater implications
regarding Brookwood Cemetery. A London firm purchased
the land for the cemetery but in doing so never realised
the vast implications of cremation, and when cremation
grew in popularity, they naturally found themselves
with a surplus of land.
Dowsett & Mann were fortunate enough to be given
a golden opportunity, of being able to acquire plots
at most reasonable prices. Yet they were faced with
a hard task ahead of them, namely how to attract house
buyers to the area. Formerly, letter writing had proved
adequate but later, when instructions were more plentiful,
they were forced to pursue additional avenues in order
to increase their coverage. They were a resourceful
partnership. When they obtained an instruction, Mr Mann
would take to his bicycle, cycle clips and all, pedal
round to the property and take instructions. He always
arranged for instructions to be carried out in the morning
because the afternoons were reserved for a trip to London.
He would take the train to town, visiting the agents
there and offering his instructions to them on a split
commission basis. It may seem rather comical to us now,
but his methods were successful and Frederick Mann managed
to sell a large number of plots at Brookwood Cemetery.
A Mr William Agace purchased the company in 1938. By
this time the firm was known as Messrs Mann & Co,
Dowsett having previously left the partnership. It is
believed that the sum involved for this transaction
was in the region of £200.
Following the Second World War, the expansion of Mann
& Co began to take place. In 1947, Mr Derek Winston
joined the firm and soon became a partner, and later
the Chairman. By this stage, the company was not only
operating from a branch in Woking but also in West Byfleet
and Walton on Thames. It was also in 1947 that the first
Weybridge office was acquired and during this period,
into the l950's, there was an upward trend in growth
for Mann & Co.
It was in the early l960's that Mr William Agace's
son, Jeremy, joined his father in the business. By l964,
Mann & Co had 24 offices and departments, growing
to 37 offices by the late l960's. This prosperous era
for the company was sadly marred by the death of Mr
William Agace, whose vital and outrageous personality
had undoubtedly carried the firm so far. Mr Paul Locke
first joined Mann & Co in the l950's as a Trainee
Surveyor to Mr Winston. He found, however, that surveying
was not his forte and decided to go to sea, where he
worked as a purser aboard a cruise liner. On his return
to England in l966 he rejoined Mann & Co as an estate
agent, later to become Managing Director and Partner,
with Jeremy Agace the Chairman.
By 1973, the partnership had expanded to 46 offices,
but it was during this decade that the company went
through, undoubtedly, its most difficult period. The
oil crisis peaked and inflation soared. Radical action
was necessary. Company cars and other assets were sold
in order to raise much needed cash. Inevitably, redundancies
took place. The partners and area directors were back
running branches, often single handed, but the company
pulled through. Careful Mortgage management, backed
by a determination to succeed, kept the company afloat.
By the turn of the decade, Mann & Co could proudly
advertise that they had over 79 offices. In l983, just
ten years on, Mann & Co acquired the Kent based
company of Bampton & Partners, with branches in
Chatham, Gillingham, Maidstone, Rainham, Rochester and
Strood.
A crucial turning point for Mann & Co was in l985
when the company went public, obtaining a full listing
on the Stock Market. The flotation was hugely successful.
The first acquisition was that of Abbotts Estate Agents,
operating in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
In March 1985, Mann & Co plc merged with Bairstow
Eves plc and 62% of this new enlarged company was purchased
by Hambros Bank and, subsequently, Hambro Countrywide
plc was formed. From l986 onwards, there were further
group acquisitions to bring the network to its present
size of over 800 offices. In 2002 the group decided
to re-brand all of the subsidiary companies with the
countrywide name. Our trading name was therefore changed
to Mann Countrywide.
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