Property agents Quinton Edwards are celebrating 25 years in business.

Simon Quinton Smith joined the chartered surveying profession in 1979 and worked in London as a commercial property agent, covering property valuations and the acquisitions, disposal and lettings of offices and industrial units.

In 1986 he moved out of London to join Chancellors at Reading, working with senior partner Tony Edwards who was one of only two specialist garden centre and horticultural valuers in the UK

Immediately interested in this niche market and enjoyed dealing with businesses and property rather than just property, Simon asked Tony to teach him how to value them to enable him to acquire and dispose of them for clients. When Chancellors sold out to Hogg Robinson, Simon moved to Camberley to work for Carson & Company and much of the garden centre work followed him.

Like many other chartered surveying companies in the late 1980s, Carson & Company were also sold to a major corporate, prompting Simon to start his own business.

At the end of 1989, he set up Quintons Commercial and continued to work within the garden centre and horticultural sectors as well as undertaking general commercial property work in the Newbury area. Twenty five years on, the Newbury based commercial property practice is a leading firm of chartered surveyors that incorporates Quinton Edwards and Quintons Commercial. Quinton Edwards offers property and business advice to the garden centres and horticultural businesses throughout the UK and parts of Europe. Quintons Commercial deal with commercial property within Newbury and West Berkshire and is run by Simon’s co-director Shane Prater.

Over the last quarter of a century Quinton Edwards has seen many independent garden centres sold to the groups but Simon has also seen several small independents develop to become groups.  During his first year in business he was contacted an entrepreneur who ran a garden centre in Scotland and was looking to expand. Simon drove to Kirkintillock to meet with Bob Gault, who went on to acquire a further 24 garden centres under the Klondyke and Strikes. From their very first meeting in the early 1990’s until his premature passing in 2011, Simon and Bob would have weekly conversations about business and industry news.

Quinton Edwards deals with businesses from the smallest nurseries and plant centres to the largest destination garden centres, his largest agency deal being £28 million. He enjoys the wide variety and the diversity of clients. One of Simon’s proudest moments was when he visited an elderly client who had guaranteed hers son’s loans on his garden centre, which was in danger of closing and she was in danger of losing her house. Simon worked closely with them and their bank to find a solution that enabled his client to keep her house.

Simon said: “It has been a pleasure to work with so many business owners over the past 25 years and without them we would not have a business. Being a small independent practice gives us flexibility to provide a personal and friendly but professional service”. 

Quintons Commercial employ eight members of staff. Celebrating with Simon is Mandy Princ,e who joined him 25 years ago and, apart for a brief break for maternity leave, is still a key member of the commercial team.

Simon is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Registered Valuer. Over the last year he has carried out 98 valuations of garden centres, nurseries and other horticultural businesses, together totalling £268 million.

Simon offers free nursery and landscaping property advice to HTA members through the HTA advice lines. He has also been involved in the industry charity Greenfingers, recently being appointed chair of the charity’s fundraising committee.

Above: Simon Quinton Smith and his co-director Shane Prater (left) at their 25th anniversary party