Sophie leads The Estates Office in Argyll which has gone from strength to strength since it opened in November 2018. The Estates Office is a boutique land management company and Chartered Surveying practice based in Oban, Argyll, which specialises in delivering a high calibre, personal service to land and estate owners.
Sophie moved to Oban in 2014 to work in property management after a year working on a community owned estate on the Isle of Lewis. In 2018, a couple of years after gaining her MRICS and becoming a member of ARLA, Sophie took the brave leap of starting a business with a focus on estate and property management which was more personal and “hands on”. She aimed to have a more in-depth understanding of what estate owners were doing, and what their goals were. She has cultivated a list of professionals to outsource work in fields including forestry, planning advisory, and building with local trades. Sophie’s business now employees six people full-time who work to a high standard for their clients.
As a Registered Valuer and member of the RICS Sophie has experience in providing a valuation service for strategic planning purposes, inheritance plans or for private sales. Sophie undertakes RICS Red Book valuations, and with her passion for property, loves nothing more than having a good look around all property types. Sophie is up to date with the legislation affecting the rural and property sector and is experienced in tenancy for both agricultural and residential properties. She brings new ideas to help west coast estates diversify traditional activities.
Sophie has made a difference to Oban, not only in terms of service to clients but also in the purchase of an old building in the centre of the town. She has redeveloped and divided the building, and rented the other half to another business. Through its professional partnerships, The Estates Office supports other rural professionals and tradespeople and has increased employment in Mull and Oban. Her company supports rural rental properties – licencing to managing bookings - which helps tourism and supports the local economy.
By starting a business at 28, Sophie took a brave step to make her dream a reality and has created a business that provides expert advice and personal service to farm and estate owners. She finds innovative solutions to diversify businesses for each client and recently produced a small business plan for an estate to transform barren land surrounded by the sea on three sides. After some research into the number of boats on the West coast, future projections and tourism levels, she managed to secure permission to modify the existing slipway, install moorings, purchase a second-hand boat hoist and install storage facilities. The business has since grown in popularity and can provide boat maintenance and boat storage.
Sophie has encouraged the refurbishment and rental of disused buildings, by providing assistance to clients in submitting planning documents for self-catering properties, beach bothies and kitchen gardens to draw tourists and visitors to the region. Sophie’s long-term goal is to continue to offer clients – current and new – a high level of service. She has just started a separate company which will offer an estate agency service, complementing The Estates Office business.