Three Year Review in Business

No Hold Ups At M4

Three years after taking the plunge and leaving an established commercial property company to set up M4 Property Consultants, Dan Smith has no regrets and has enjoyed the challenges of starting a company during a global recession.

Commenting on feedback he had at the time, Dan said, “Quite a few people were surprised when I announced in 2009 I was going to resign from a senior position in an established company with all the benefits that come with such as position to start my own business. Especially considering that commercial property is one of the sectors most greatly impacted by the downturn that started in 2007/08.”

Strangely enough, these external factors were the prompt Dan needed to realise a career ambition and be his own boss. The commercial property market had shrunk in size.

The number of deals being done had reduced and more premises were becoming available due to companies downsizing or even going out of business completely.

Landlords and their agents were recognising they had to work a lot harder to secure tenants. This presented an opportunity.

This was a national trend, not just confined to South East Wales. Dan identified a niche in the region for a commercial property agent with a specialist local knowledge of the Gwent area, an in-depth understanding of local councils and Welsh Assembly Government incentives and grant support programmes and the ability to provide a more personal, creative approach to commercial property.

It’s a formula that has worked and three years on, Dan and his growing team have established themselves in the South East Wales commercial property sector and now provide a comprehensive range of services to local and national property owners and occupiers alike.

Commenting on the current local market, Dan said, “Last month, the UK came out of the recession. It would be very premature and short sighted to predict that the economy will continue to improve and experience no further problems. However, there is hope that we are in the initial phase of a genuine upturn.”

He continued,”During October we received the highest level of enquiries for commercial property since we set up. Obviously, it is important to now turn these enquiries into deals, but it is certainly a positive sign.

Additionally, we have recently instructed solicitors on a letting at Severnlink Distribution Centre in Chepstow which will result in the centre being fully occupied for the first time in nearly 10 years! There is a long way to go before we can claim to be in recovery, but these are certainly encouraging signs. “

Concluding Dan said, “I’m extremely pleased with the progress M4 Property Consultants has made. We are really enjoying working with our clients and achieving results for them in this difficult market.

We hope to continue to grow our client base by continuing to focus our work in a confined geographical area, ensuring that we can provide our clients with the personal service that has worked so well for us to date, generating great results for both our clients and ourselves.”