05/09/2008

Published in Property Week, on 5th September 2008

In the office agency world, agents that let space for landlords tend to grab the headlines and plaudits. But here, Property Week meets two tenant-focused agencies: Devono and Andrews Denford & Boyd. Sean McAllister reports

DEVONO
'Like us or hate us, someone always has an opinion on us.' Robert Leigh's description of his acquisitions agency Devono is spot on. In less than five years, in terms of the number of deals secured, it has become the leading offices acquisitions agency in central London.

Last year Devono completed 78 acquisitions, compared with 55 for DTZ and 53 for CB Richard Ellis, reports property data provider CoStar (see tables, below). So far this year, it has completed almost twice as many as it closest rival - 43, compared with 23 by CBRE.
Devono has ripped up the surveyors' textbook to adopt an aggressive new business model based on representing only tenants, which has brought about its meteoric rise. But it has split opinion among London's agents.

Some admire the entrepreneurial flair of Leigh and co-director Adam Landau, and wish they had thought of the idea. Others claim Devono lacks the necessary RICS qualifications, offers a lower level of service and only wins clients by undercutting the competition - but also wish they had thought of the idea.

Leigh and Landau are keen to eradicate the myths they claim surround Devono. They say its success has been down to representing tenants only, setting the firm apart from its rivals as a pro-tenant agency. This has become Devono's unique selling point; it will not even sublet space for clients.

'Our clients get comfort from knowing that our main aim is to reduce their rent,' says Leigh. 'In my opinion, you can't sensibly represent a landlord in the same location as a tenant, as all deals are based on comparable evidence.'

Not taking instructions from landlords means Devono has to continually find new tenants as clients. 'It's about hard graft,' says Leigh. 'While other agents can win one client with tens of instructions, the tenant cycle is different.'

Before Devono, Leigh worked for central London agents Simon Korn and Michael Blair & Co, but felt the industry was 'under-servicing' tenants and was too focused on landlords.
'I wanted to provide the same level of service to occupiers that landlords have received from agents - unbiased advice without conflicts of interest,' says Leigh.

At that time, Landau, previously head of his own wholesale consumer software business, was working for north London agent Martyn Gerrard, but was keen to set up another venture.

Landau and Leigh were family friends in their youth. They set up Devono in October 2003, after being re-introduced by their respective families.

'One myth is that we're an internet company,' says Leigh. 'In the early days we did generate business via the internet, but that has changed. You won't find tenants with requirements of more than 1,000 sq ft looking on the internet.'

Leigh is also keen to dispel the myth that 'we are cheap and that is how we win so much business'. 'We hold our ground with fees and turn away business when undercut by bigger agencies,' he says. 'I never want to win instructions by being the cheapest. We win them on merit.'

Devono's 10 Haymarket-based staff are split into new business and agency teams. The new business team hunts down leads by networking at events and reading newspapers to learn which companies could downsize or upsize, and therefore may require new space. It also cold calls companies coming to the end of leases.

'We roll up our sleeves and find out about every business that could move in the next six to 12 months,' says Landau. 'If you put a surveyor in a room with a Yellow Pages and a phone, how long would he last?'

MOST ACTIVE AGENCY
Leads are passed to Devono's agency team. Landau claims that as an agency 'we see more buildings than any other: 125-150 a week. We're as active as it comes in central London'.

But Devono's agency team is scorned by some London agents because they are not chartered surveyors and, some say, cannot offer the same level of service and professionalism.

Leigh and Landau passionately defend their lack of RICS qualifications. 'We never say we are chartered surveyors,' says Landau. 'We have a number of advisers on our panel but Robert and I have over 20 years of property experience. We have never lost a job because we were not surveyors - this is a people business and the key to success is the relationship with clients.

'One of our key strengths that adds value to our clients is not something that is necessarily taught by the RICS - our negotiation skills.'

Repeat business and recommendations are now Devono's biggest generators of growth. For instance, it found 8,000 sq ft for Bebo on Rathbone Place in London's West End two years after first fin ding 1,250 sq ft for the online social networking firm on Berwick Street.

Jas Sekhon, business operations manager at investment firm Paamco Europe, rates Devono highly after it found the firm's premises at 25 Victoria Street, three years after buying space for it on New Bond Street. She recommends Devono to many other companies, but what impresses her most is that Devono only services tenants. 'Big companies seem to play in favour of landlords rather than tenants and maybe wouldn't negotiate so hard,' she says. 'Due to Devono we paid less rent than we expected.'

Devono is also attracting larger searches. The average acquisition has risen from 4,000 sq ft last year to 6,000 sq ft this year. For instance it bought 18,000 sq ft for Climate Change Capital at 3 More London, and 20,000 sq ft for E.ON at 129 Wilton Road in London's Victoria.

While other agents fear the redundancy axe, Leigh and Landau, both 29, are focused on expanding Devono. Last year its turnover was £1.8m, but the figure for this year is bound to be higher because of a rise in the number and size of its acquisitions. It also recently added a project management division to assist tenants with the logistics and management of relocating.

Devono has ambitions to grow beyond offices and London. The plan is to roll out a retail and leisure acquisitions arm in the next two to three years and open offices in the main regional cities, perhaps through acquisitions.

Wherever Devono ventures next, it is sure to attract controversy. Its pro-tenant stance, aggressive business development attitude and ability to outshine larger international property consultancies will continue to ruffle feathers -and attract admiring glances.

CENTRAL LONDON AGENCIES BY NUMBER OF ACQUISITIONS 2007
Rank	Firm	Acquisitions
1	Devono	78
2	DTZ	55
3	CB Richard Ellis	53
4	Cushman & Wakefield	33
5	Jones Lang LaSalle	33
6	GVA Grimley/ Saxon Law	45
7	Savills	29
8	King Sturge	28
9	Knight Frank	28
10	Crossland Otter Hunt	26
Source: COSTAR

CENTRAL LONDON AGENCIES BY NUMBER OF ACQUISITIONS JAN-JULY 2008
Rank	Firm	Acquisitions
1	Devono	43
2	CB Richard Ellis	23
3	King Sturge	21
4	DTZ	16
5	Anton Page	11
6	Knight Frank	9
7	Savills	8
8	Cushman & Wakefield	8
9	GVA Grimley/ Saxon Law	8
10	Newton Perkins	7
Source: COSTAR

Property Week - 05.09.08 - Written by Sean McAllister