“Five Minute Interview” with Noel Flint, Head of Knight Frank in Knightsbridge
Noel Flint is one of London’s best-known agents and has worked at Knight Frank, where he is a partner, since the 1980s. He currently heads up its Knightsbridge office and his recent work has included the launch of the company’s award-winning website, www.knightfrank.com.
How did you get into estate agency?
I’ve been with Knight Frank for 30 years and I started out as land agent in Herefordshire and then when I had qualified, transferred up to London where – can you believe it? – we had just one office covering Totteridge in the north, across the capital and down to Chislehurst. It wasn’t long before I knew London’s streets better than many black cab drivers.
What sales are you most proud of?
The most thrilling is when I sold The Old Rectory in Chelsea. It was in 1990 and a Greek shipping magnate was in town and his wife contacted me and said she wanted a large house in central London. But she was choosy and we had soon seen almost every property on our books. And then, in a final roll of the dice, I showed her The Old Rectory. It has the largest gardens in London after Buckingham Palace – 2.5 acres – and she put in an offer and bought it. It was and remains one of the most expensive addresses in London, and was sold on in 2001 to another shipping magnate, John Frederiksen, for a reported £46 million in a private sale. But what I loved about that was the strategic game I had to play during the negotiations – I like to think I’m a good gauge of people’s subtle mannerisms and the unspoken signals they give off.
Who have been your most famous clients?
I once sold the house of a very high profile cabinet minister – I can’t say who – but the letter he sent afterwards complimenting me on the sale being a ‘masterpiece of psychological warfare’ still hangs in my toilet. I’ve also had several pop stars in the back of my car.
The recession has been hard for estate agents – but the number of closures hasn’t been as high as expected. Why do you think that is?
This recession has been similar to the last one; estate agents have proved more resilient than people expected. Yes, of course it’s been sad to have to let people go, but I can only speak for London when I say that the trimming hasn’t been too harsh. But after such a strong bull market, it is a good time to re-evaluate your business and look at a new business plan. And it’s worked for us – we’ve doubled our turnover in the past 12 months. Low interest rates are keeping the domestic market at the lower end ticking over, and at the top end it’s the favourable exchange rate that’s helped attract overseas buyers.
Do you think the recession is over?
Looking at current trading conditions, I think that the recession is indeed over.
What have been your worst and best days at work?
The worst was when, on two occasions, I had to report the death of a colleague to my team – it was an incredibly hard thing to do. A less stressful but nevertheless uncomfortable moment was when I had to phone one of the world’s most famous City figures, the late Robert Holmes à Court, and tell him a property transaction had fallen through. He wasn’t a happy man.
The best days at work are when the deals that you’ve masterminded come through. It’s the five minutes afterwards when the call has come through that I like to savour. But I particularly enjoyed the day when I had Annie Lennox in my car. She had recently split from her partner Dave Stewart and was looking for a new home, and was a lovely person.
What does the future hold for estate agents?
The industry is changing very fast. We’ve embraced the internet and 70 per cent of all leads now come from it. But I believe that people still want to deal with a person when it comes to negotiation and I believe there will always be a role for an estate agent. I think portals have made it more difficult for agents to make a name for themselves because buyers and sellers do all the initial research from home and don’t engage directly with the agents so much. One indirect result is that commission sharing is now much less common.
Given unlimited funds, what would be your ideal home?
The trouble is that I’ve been inside so many of London’s prime addresses and seen so many lovely homes that it makes this question difficult to answer! But I’ll have to go for the amazing house I sold many years ago on the west side of The Little Boltons in Kensington and Chelsea. Not too big, lovely high ceilings, a stone staircase and parking. There’s no such thing as the perfect house, but this one offers the fewest compromises.
Thank you very much to Noel Flint for taking the time to speak to us.
This is a regular feature, so if you would like to be interviewed for the TDPG Newsletter, please contact camilla.andersen@tdpg.com
