‘All roads lead to property’
Ahead of the Midlands PROPS Awards, we spoke to James Mattin, managing director of Bond Wolfe about how he and his company became involved in the Variety-backed event – and what’s next for the firm.
How did Bond Wolfe become involved in the awards?
I was approached by Variety to do auction at charity ball. It went well, and we stayed in touch. The awards events in London and Yorkshire are such a huge success that the next logical step was to do something in Midlands, and I was asked if I’d like to get involved with organising it. Bond Wolfe saw it as a good opportunity to raise funds, as well as plug a gap and bring such a strong, successful event to the Midlands. I felt strongly that Midlands property professionals would buy in to the event and we’ve put together a great committee who really understand the sector.
How do you see the commercial property sector in the Midlands at present?
I’d say it’s very healthy. Back at the beginning of 2020 the sector was fairly steady and then Covid hit – all of a sudden people were saying: “Staff will never return to offices”. I remember of day 1 of the 2020 lockdown my phone didn’t stop ringing with people want to open fast food takeaways and delivery kitchens! Over the last two years the market has been absolutely flying; driven mainly by investors looking for a safe place to put their money. All roads lead to property.
What’s next for Bond Wolfe?
In the middle of 2021 we rebranded, and moved our West Bromwich office to Birmingham. We relaunched auction business in 2019 brought it back into the group. We’ve also invested heavily in our media company. We have a very aggressive five year plan to grow the business, which could end up with an IPO… we’ll wait and see. Our agency has doubled the number of instructions over last 12 months on the back of offering a complete hybrid model. We’re looking at expanding by buying other businesses. We want to grow as quickly as possible and as big as possible and we’re now operating on a national basis – that’s what we want to become known for.
Entry to the Props is free and you can enter any number of awards.
Please ensure that you include all the information requested for the nomination to be considered.
CLICK HERE to complete the nomination form.
The first Midlands PROPS Awards take place on Thursday, 28 April 2022 at Birmingham’s Grand Hotel. To book tickets, visit www.variety.org.uk/events/midlands-props-awards-2022
Since 1992, The PROPS have raised over £10.5m, enabling Variety, the Children’s Charity, to provide 2,100 custom built wheelchairs and other essential items to children and young people throughout the UK.
The deadline for entries is 28 February.
We look forward to receiving your entry!
For more details contact:
Lyn Staunton
Midlands development director
Variety, the Children’s Charity
midlands@variety.org.uk
078 5077 9466
