Haddon Grove, M33 7TT

My father ran his own business all his life as did my grandfather before him. In fact the office where Trading Places started has been in our family since 1977. Initially my father ran it as a clothes shop called Pants. It has now been the head office for Trading Places since 1988. I first set out as a youth trainee at the local Trafford Borough Council and they assisted me with my surveying degree. I moved within a year into estate agency and quickly gained promotion working for independent and corporate agents.

At the age of only 23 I acquired Trading Places and followed in the family tradition of running my own Independent family business. Within three months of opening I became Stretford's largest agent. The business grew quickly as my passion for selling and for my home town of Stretford gave me a massive advantage over other agents in the area.

At 28 I opened the Urmston office and rapidly became the biggest in Urmston as I had the advantage of having sold for more people in Stretford who were looking to move to Urmston. The same happened with Chorlton and now I help people move from Chorlton through to Urmston and back as all my offices go hand in glove working to help people purchase in the areas they want and help clients maximise the price they achieve for their property.

I hear people advertising they have a local expert in property. This gives me a smile as I am a true local expert. I have worked and lived in the local area for 40 plus years now. My knowledge of surveying and property along with local knowledge of areas, schools transport, restaurants and shopping. My company now employs 15 local people who share my passion for being successful. The one rule I impress on my staff is clients are not just numbers. There is no better feeling than handing over a new property card and the keys to someone for their new house. That is the most rewarding part of our jobs. I still get the same thrill out of selling a house as when I first set up the business.

On a corporate side we are members of the Relocation Network who link all Independent agents in England so we can offer nationwide coverage despite being an independent family run business.