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75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

This book of 75 facts has been compiled by Christie + Co employees, past and present, to mark the company’s 75th Anniversary.

Although some of the accounts are anecdotal, they are all believed to be based on fact.

We hope you find the book both informative and entertaining. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

George Christie was still only 29 when he called James Owen one day in early 1935 and said that the time was right for them to start up in business together. Nick Davies had already confirmed his willingness to form a partnership. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co was established by George Christie, James Owen and Nick Davies, in Baker Street, London on 8th May 1935. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co’s capital was £1,000, of which Christie contributed £500, Owen £300 and Davies £200. The three men never needed a formal partnership agreement. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 8

George Christie assumed the role of managing partner when Christie + Co was established — he had the largest stake in the business and was also older and more experienced than either Owen or Davies. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 9

The first deal negotiated by the firm involved a private family hotel in Queensgate, London, which sold for £7,000, earning a commission of £250. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie + Co sold Charles Forte his first milk bar in 1935 — the Strand Milk Bar in Regent Street, London. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie + Co was responsible for acquiring three sites, in New Barnet, Acton and Twickenham for cinemas owned by Bacal & Lee, trading as Ensaldo. The deals were done during the 1930s — the cinema’s heyday. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie + Co’s first advert appeared in The Caterer and Hotelkeeper in 1936. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie + Co’s first female negotiator, Miss Marjorie Robin, was employed in the 1940s. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

George Christie suffered hearing problems throughout his life and was completely deaf from the 1960s. His secretary would hold a telephone earpiece, rapidly writing down in shorthand the words of the caller. Christie responded almost simultaneously through a separate mouthpiece. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Before Christie + Co chose to specialise in the hospitality, leisure, care and retail sectors, the company sold a huge variety of businesses — from ladies’ hairdressers and gents’ outfitters to dog kennels, souvenir doll manufacturers, cash and carries and electro plating works! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

The only male employees not called up to serve with the armed forces during the Second World War were George Christie, on account of his deafness and Stan Bristow, who had suffered from polio. They kept the firm going throughout the war and spent their nights on the office rooftop on fire watch. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie + Co always had a good relationship with Sir Maxwell Joseph, the founder of , selling him a property in Upper Berkeley Street and a number of small during the war. James Owen was also responsible for introducing Sir Maxwell to his wife — a receptionist at the first hotel he bought. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie + Co handled its first pub sale in 1946. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie, Owen and Davies heeded the advice of their accountants and eventually converted the business into a limited liability company. Christie, Owen & Davies Ltd was incorporated on 4 May 1948. The issued ordinary share capital was £18,000. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

The first hotel Christie + Co sold in the West Country was the Royal Clarence Hotel in Cathedral Green, Exeter. The staff who handled the sale from the Baker Street office recognised that there was more business to be done in the South West and decided to open an office in Catherine Street, Exeter in 1952. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

Christie + Co sold Egon Ronay his first restaurant in 1952 — the Marquee in Knightsbridge. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

Commercial TV started broadcasting in 1955 and Christie + Co became the first commercial real estate agent to run a television advertising campaign. The message was “Another successful sale with Christie & Co” and featured a sailing boat. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

Christie + Co Directors are asked to make themselves available to clients at all times — something that James Owen actively encouraged. When a member of Owen’s team failed to deliver a message to him, he said “even if I am in the lavatory, it is imperative you pass a note under the door”! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

A publican client of Christie + Co founder James Owen told how she offered her husband’s Sunday roast to a customer when he was late home for lunch from a friend’s pub. She apparently called Owen for advice because the customer (Egon Ronay) wanted to list her pub in one of his guides and she wasn’t accustomed to serving food to customers — unless her husband was late home! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

Christie + Co first sold the Inn — made famous by Daphne Du Maurier’s book of the same name — in 1962. The company has re-sold the Inn several times since. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

Christie + Co sold the Swan Hotel at Streatley to the entertainer Danny La Rue. As the deal completed, La Rue said to James Owen “To think my father didn’t have an arse to his trousers and I’ve got all this.” 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

In 1963 Christie + Co proudly declared that the aggregate value of hotel sales during the year was £2 million. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

Christie + Co’s Chairman, David Rugg, joined the company in 1972 as James Owen’s assistant. He is the longest serving member of staff currently employed by the company. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 2

Christie + Co sold the Waterside Inn at Bray to the Roux Brothers in 1972. In 2010 the Waterside Inn celebrated a special anniversary of its own — the restaurant was honoured with three Michelin stars for the 25th year. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Christie + Co was acquired in 1974 by a company that was jointly controlled by Philip Gwyn. On 30th August 1974 Philip Gwyn was appointed to the board of Christie, Owen and Davies Ltd while George Christie, James Owen and Nick Davies continued to serve as directors. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Former Christie + Co Managing Director John Howard was a Cambridge graduate in land economics who joined the company in 1975 and made a crucial contribution to its history. A keen rugby player, Howard captained Cambridge in the 1972 Varsity Match at Twickenham, which the team won 16 - 6. He was Christie + Co’s Managing Director until 1990 when he died unexpectedly whilst on a climbing holiday in Nepal. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Christie + Co was described by the Financial Times in 1976 as “a kind of marriage broker between the potential customer and his eventual business”. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Christie + Co opened an office in Carmarthen in 1976. Although the office never sold a single cottage, it twice received letter-bombs (without any damage or injury) during a period when extremist Welsh nationalists were targeting the offices of English businesses. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Reliance Consumer Credit (RCC) was formed in 1977 to provide buyers with the finance they needed — including the mortgage to buy the business; the life insurance required as additional security; and the insurance cover needed for the property, fixtures and fittings and stock. Christie + Co established this service long before the practice was adopted by residential agents. RCC was later rebranded Christie First in 1999 and subsequently became Christie Finance and Christie Insurance in 2007. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Long before Christie + Co’s European network of offices was established planes were sometimes chartered from Biggin Hill Airport to inspect client hotels. One valuation expedition was particularly memorable because it involved a pilot who had apparently gained most of his experience during the Second World War. Brussels’ Air Traffic Controllers were rendered speechless when the pilot burst onto the airwaves demanding a landing slot in Ghent. The airport had been closed for years for redevelopment and the hotel Christie + Co was inspecting stood proudly on the former runway! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

The holding company C, O & D Group was established in 1980. It was renamed Christie Group in 1986. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Christie + Co was appointed to handle what was billed by the press as “The Sale of the Century” — the Thatcher Government’s privatisation of . The portfolio included the Grosvenor Hotel in Victoria, the Great Western Royal in Paddington, the Midland in , the Queen’s in , the Adelphi in and the Royal Station Hotels in York and Newcastle. Well known Scottish hotels in the portfolio included and Turnberry. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

A Christie + Co valuer from the Winchester office was responsible for taking Erica Roe to an v rugby union match at Twickenham in January 1982, where she performed what the BBC later called “perhaps the most famous of all streaks”. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 3

Christie + Co was once instructed by Mrs Olga Kerr — daughter of Co-Co the distinguished clown — to sell Cromer Zoo in Norfolk. The zoo was offered for sale in 1983 and included all the animals, three acres of land, attractive walkways and an on-site cafeteria — all for £75,000. The collection of animals included “Britain’s best producing puma” (mother of 23 cubs) a lion, two tigers and a lion cub. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

Christie Group has been one of the original sponsors of the Caterer & Hotelkeeper awards since 1984. Christie + Co currently sponsors the Newcomer category. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

Christie + Co first published “Business Facts” in 1985, tracking average business price movements from 1975. The document later became more widely known as “Business Outlook/Market Intelligence” and is published in January each year. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

Christie + Co’s offices in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester were all opened in 1985 — the year that computer systems were installed in most of the company’s offices. The first office had been computerised in 1977. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

A potential purchaser called Christie + Co to enquire about “a pub in Liverpool without a roof”. The agent responded by explaining “we aren’t selling a pub without a roof”, which prompted the swift reply “you are now”! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

The Sunderland Hotel’s particulars proudly stated that new lavatory basins had been installed (although partitioning was required) and that much surface rewiring had taken place. Despite these improvements a Christie + Co inspection revealed that the fire escape had not been built when the fire door was opened on the third floor by an unsuspecting agent! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

Christie Group floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1988. It was moved to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2005. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

E J Venner & Co Ltd became Christie + Co’s sister company in 1984. Founded in 1896, Venners is one of the oldest established stocktaking firms in the country, with a particular reputation within the licensed trade. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

Christie + Co handled pub sales for Bass Inns & Taverns, Grand Metropolitan Estates and Belhaven following the Government’s publication of the Beer Orders in 1989. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

Christie + Co formed a strong relationship with Nomura in the 1990s and with the pub operators it was financing. In 1995 Christie + Co handled the sale of 264 pubs worth £23 million on behalf of Phoenix Inns and in the following year acted as valuers, agents and advisors for Nomura when Phoenix acquired the Spring Inns portfolio of more than 1,400 properties for some £250 million. In 1997, Christie + Co was involved in an even bigger deal which saw Nomura’s Grand Pub Co, with its sister, Phoenix Inns, become the UK’s largest pub estate. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 4

Christie + Co sold a number of Berni Inn steakhouses following the company’s acquisition by Whitbread in 1990. The Berni Inn steakhouse had been around since the 1950s and the sale of the iconic Berni Inn brand came at a time when the UK’s casual diners had started to become more discerning. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co sold what purports to be Britain’s oldest inn — Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham, which dates back to 1189AD. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co sold The Plough at Winchmore Hill to Barbara Windsor and her second husband Stephen Hollings. A star of nine Carry On films, Windsor later picked up the Best Actress title at the British Soap Awards for her role as Peggy Mitchell in Eastenders. Windsor was clearly able to draw upon her real life pint-pulling experience when she starred as a fictional landlady! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co ventured into Continental Europe in 1997 when it opened an office in Paris. The company subsequently moved into , and Scandinavia, with office openings in Frankfurt in 1998, Barcelona in 2000 and Helsinki in 2008. The company currently operates nine international offices. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co sold the Plantation Inn, Ocho Rios, Jamaica in 1998. The resort has attracted the rich and famous since it first opened its doors in the 1950s — Sir Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, Sir Noël Coward and the James Bond author Ian Fleming are amongst the many recognisable names appearing on its guest list. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co sold Selsdon Park Hotel in 1997. The hotel and course is probably best known for hosting a meeting of the Conservative Shadow Cabinet, where Edward Heath and his colleagues formulated policies for the 1970 General Election manifesto. At Selsdon Park, they devised a radical free market agenda, which resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party. The policies were famously condemned by the then Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, as the work of "Selsdon Man". 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co has advised the Forte family for over 50 years. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co’s Head of Hotels Jeremy Hill had the dubious pleasure of valuing the infamous Hedonism II in Jamaica. The resort has areas reserved for naturism and is notorious for its liberal attitudes. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

A Christie + Co surveyor from the Exeter office was sent to covertly value a hotel on the Scilly Isles, Cornwall. Within 20 minutes of getting off the helicopter he was asked cheerfully by four different people how the job was going and how much the property was worth! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

www.christie.com was established in 1999 and has attracted almost 300,000 registered users since its launch. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 5

Christie + Co brokered what was reportedly ’s largest ever hotel deal — the sale of 20 North British Trust Hotels to Swallow Hotels in 2005. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co sold the prestigious Grade II- Listed Brewery in Chiswell Street, London, which Whitbread had occupied for more than 250 years. Arranging more than 100 viewings, Christie + Co received over 20 formal offers, resulting in highly competitive bidding in the final rounds. St James Capital Chiswell Street — a member of the Earls Court & Olympia Group — acquired the business for £55 million. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co sold Oakley Court hotel in 2006. Located on a tranquil stretch of the River Thames, this former country house hotel was reportedly used by the French Resistance as their English headquarters during the Second World War. The house and grounds later featured in more than 200 films including a number of Hammer House Productions; the St Trinians Series; The Rocky Horror Show; Half a Sixpence starring Tommy Steele; and Murder by Death starring Peter Sellers. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co has sold the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay on more than one occasion. John Cleese and his Monty Python colleagues stayed at the Gleneagles Hotel in the early 1970s when it was owned by Donald Sinclair. Their visit provided inspiration for the hugely successful Fawlty Towers sitcom, which was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co values some of the world’s most glamorous hotels including: the George V and Plaza Athénée in Paris; the Carlton in Cannes; The Hyde Park Hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental) in London; The Ritz hotels in London and Madrid; and the Great Eastern (now the Andaz) in London; Reid’s Palace Hotel in Madeira; the Balmoral and Caledonian hotels in ; The Westbury and The Shelbourne hotels in Dublin; The in , ; in ; the Amstel and Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam; Hotel des Bergues in Geneva; the Bristol Hotel Warsaw; the Dom Hotel in Cologne; the King Edward hotel in Toronto; the Westbury hotel in New York; and the InterContinental De La Ville in Rome. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co currently operates 15 offices in the UK in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Enfield, Exeter, Glasgow, Ipswich, Leeds, London, Maidstone, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham and Winchester. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

David Tennant made an unscheduled special guest appearance at Christie + Co’s Business Outlook/ Market Intelligence launch in 2008. The former Dr Who star was filming an episode of Derren Brown’s Mind Control programme for Channel 4 at the launch venue — Trinity House in London. As filming had overrun, the affable star was only too pleased to stop and chat to some of Christie + Co’s guests as they arrived at the venue. He took the time to flick through the publication and was particularly interested in the sale of The St David’s Hotel & Spa in Cardiff — which was sold on behalf of Rocco Forte Hotels for £32.5 million. The hotel had apparently been Tennant’s “second home” during filming for Dr Who in Cardiff. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co sold two of the largest conference hotels in the UK in 2006. The 1,054-bedroom Hilton London Metropole and 794-bedroom Hilton Birmingham Metropole were acquired by Dr Edward Wojakovski’s family-owned Tonstate Group for £417 million. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Having acquired the Spirit Group of managed houses in December 2005, Punch Taverns declared its intention to transfer the pubs into its leased estate. Christie + Co was appointed to help manage the process and just 15 months after the first lease agreement was signed in 2006, no less than 637 former managed houses were successfully let. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

Christie + Co sold the entire share capital of Cannon Capital Group Holdings, a company which held the freehold interest in 91 care homes. The freehold care homes, which were let to Ashbourne Healthcare and totalled approximately 4,500 beds, were acquired by London & Regional Properties for £365.5 million. The deal was the largest ever transacted by an agent in this sector. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 6

In 2006 Caring Times calculated that Christie + Co was responsible for selling more than 51% of all the individually transacted care homes in the UK. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co sold the Newbridge Inn, Monmouthshire, to the Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans. Evans, who took over as host of BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show in January 2010 when veteran broadcaster Terry Wogan retired from the post, owns two other pubs in Surrey and West Sussex. Evans got to know the Newbridge Inn when he played golf in the Usk Valley. He bought the business in 2007. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Mat Follas, the 2009 winner of the BBC’s MasterChef title, acquired his first restaurant through Christie + Co. The former IT engineer took a new lease on the Black Cat Bistro in Beaminster, Dorset, reopening it as The Wild Garlic in the summer of 2009. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co inspects around 15,000 businesses a year for sale or valuation purposes. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co is a multi-disciplinary firm, which proudly employs both property experts and sector specialists, with practical operational experience. Regulated by RICS, Christie + Co’s team includes more than 40 Chartered Surveyors. Four employees are also members of the President’s Panel of the RICS Dispute Resolution Service. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co inspected more than half of Boots’ 2,500 UK and Irish stores in just four days. More than 50 Christie + Co staff from across the network of offices were mobilised to complete an advisory project for Guy Hands at Terra Firma. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co Director and pub specialist Bill Colquhoun has sold more than 500 pubs during his 22 years with the company. The sale of the Royal Oak in the village of Laxfield, Suffolk, which completed in April 2010, was the 500th pub transaction he successfully negotiated. Bill has since sold several more pubs and is aiming for 600! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co sold the internationally acclaimed 181-bedroom Columbus hotel in the Principality of . The hotel, which was part owned by former Formula One driver David Coulthard, was acquired by London & Regional Group, one of the largest private property companies in Europe, for an undisclosed sum. David Coulthard, who is now retired from Formula One racing but continues his involvement with the sport as a commentator, won 13 Grands Prix and was twice a winner in Monaco. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co has some very loyal employees, many of whom have served the company for more than 25 years. The combined length of service clocked up by Christie + Co’s top twenty long servers is 499 years! 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

Christie + Co has supported many of the hospitality industry’s rising stars. High profile recipients of Christie + Co sponsored Catey Newcomer awards include Marco Pierre White in 1987, Paul Heathcote in 1992 and Gordon Ramsay in 1995. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 7

The Christie + Co logo has been changed a number of times over the years. The current logo, featuring six colourful brand characters, was introduced in 2005. Each brand character represents one of Christie + Co’s specialist sectors: Green for hotels; purple for public houses; blue for restaurants; pink for leisure; yellow for care; and orange for retail. 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 8 75 Facts booklet.qxp:Layout 1 5/5/10 15:29 Page 1

Christie + Co, 39 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0EU www.christiecorporate.com