In an industry often criticised for its impersonal approach, Althorp & Co stands out by putting clients at the heart of the process.
Whether it’s meticulously preparing a home for sale, offering round-the-clock availability or navigating complex property chains with expertise, Brigitte Althorp-Gormlay ensures every client receives a truly tailored experience. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to delivering results, this independent agency is setting a new standard for estate agents in Gloucestershire.
What inspired you to launch your own bespoke estate agency in Gloucestershire?
When I was working for another agency a lot of people would say to me, 'oh, you're really different to other agents.' They'd mention how I was always available to contact, whether it be via email or Whatsapp — how I'd be running around like a headless chicken as if it was my own business.
So, of course, I wanted to put all this into my own independent venture.
Althorp & Co is different to other agencies because I'm at the heart of it. I go into a client's house, I give complete, plain talking advice and ideas, and I'm available throughout the process, from consultation to completion.
It doesn't matter how small or large a corporation is, it's who's behind the client's best interest. It's my name above the door now, so I need to deliver and make sure my clients get the result they want.
Personalisation is at the heart of your service. Can you provide an example of how you tailor the experience to each of your clients?
I love what I do and I'm very passionate about what I do. I love engaging, meeting clients and listening to their journey to how they got to the point of wanting to sell or buy.
The more of a rapport that you build up with clients, the more trusting they are in what you do — so much so that if I see a house that would work for a client, I'll pick up the phone and say 'no I'm not sending you any details, but I know that you're going to like this one, humour me and come to see it.'
If you really want to sell your house, I'll give you the ideas. Myself and my black book of contractors — who I've been working with for decades. We will prep your house and every property we bring to market, we are there with the photographer and videographer to make sure it's captured at its absolute best.
The first house Althorp & Co ever launched took five weeks to prepare. We got everybody on board to fill three skips during decluttering, then staged the property with the existing owner's furniture, adding and taking away where necessary.
We had it all finished for the photos and videos in the morning, before the removal company arrived in the afternoon to move all their stuff to their rental property — in which we set up a turnkey for them, right down to the pyjamas on their little boys' beds, so that when they walked through the front door it would feel like home.
We launched the property on the Friday, had a viewing on the Saturday and it was sold by the Monday — the whole process took 42 days to complete, start to finish, because we had everything organised, including the pre-contract pack with their solicitor.
Communication and agent availability are key pillars of your agency — how do you ensure that clients feel fully supported throughout the buying or selling process?
Like a traditional estate agency, we do the whole conveyancing process but clients will be dealing directly with me, which means that they're not going to get lost in a system.
I get to know each property as much as the owner does — as if I'm living in it myself!
I think that having the continuity of the same person, providing that hand-holding experience, that's where Althorp & Co is different. Yes, there are other independent agencies out there but we truly deliver the whole package.
For example, we had a sale fall through the other week, so we arranged a whole bunch of viewings and within five days it was under offer again.
We had a chain of five, which is a conveyancing nightmare — and you're not going to get another agent that sits on it 24/7 every day, speaking to solicitors up and down the chain until we had confirmation of exchange, that's all part of our service.
Althorp & Co is the personal assistant to selling your property.
The property market is ever-evolving, what do you see as the biggest challenges that homeowners are facing today and how does your communicative and bespoke approach help to overcome them?
The conveyancing process is one of them but there's also the issue of complex title plans, I'm dealing with one of those currently.
There are certain forms that you need to fill in for this and we ask that clients complete these before the property goes to market — we prepare the pre-contract pack and collect all the paperwork before marketing a property, which speeds up the process during conveyancing.
I'm direct in my approach but I think that's the way it should be because if someone's come to me to sell a property, it can be a very stressful period of time for a client and one of the biggest things they'll be selling or buying in their whole life — so I've got to manage everybody's expectations.
We do everything we can to make sure each sale goes through smoothly.
From cosy cottages to marvellous modern mansions, Gloucestershire has a diverse property market. How does your bespoke business model cater to such a variety of homes and clients?
Again, it's not about the property itself. I love selling homes — it doesn't matter if it's a wreck or a contemporary-style 6000 sq ft property, at the end of the day it's about how you choose to market it.
Our bespoke business model caters to this by prepping the property to hit the market, it also needs to look exceptional for viewings and we're on board with this as soon as clients engage our services.
This doesn't have anything to do with pricing either because often people look at what we offer and think that we must sell the really expensive properties — and it would be great if I could get £3 million properties every single time but it's about believing in what you deliver, no matter the value.
Where do you see your agency in the next five years? How do you hope to continue shaping the way homes are sold in Gloucestershire?
In five years' time, the business will have grown. I will always have the ability to deliver a very personal service and I will always be at the front of the business — always meeting the client and always delivering the best I can.
The world of property is about visuals and time taken up on social media is not what I want. So when the business grows, it'll be about building the support barrier around me to still continue to deliver the way I started out.
There are more than 70 agents in Cheltenham alone, so it's about standing out and trying to be different.
I'm fighting through a big pool of agents and I think our feminine touch implements empathy in an industry that's quite domineering with males, so if anything, it's nice to inject a bit of girl power!
