Welsh property experts eye further growth and expansion

Tell us a little about your company.  

Cardigan Bay Properties is a multi-award-winning, professional, independent estate agent owned and operated by Helen Worrall and Tania Dutnell, which was launched in February 2021. Our business was created to offer buyers and sellers a professional, personal service, putting our clients first, while making the most of our experience, local knowledge and 29 years’ combined worth of market expertise.   

As a result, we have five-star reviews and an average sales exchange time frame of just 13 weeks. We sell all types of residential and commercial property, land and smallholdings across West Wales and are available seven days a week.  

How would you characterise 2023 in your sector so far? 

2023 has been up and down in our sector. The market has been so strong over the last few years that owners were hoping to achieve similar figures as the market spike. But as the stock levels have increased this has resulted in increased options for the buyers. 

Buyers are now driving the market, and with more stock and more choice, the prices have had to become more realistic. This, in combination with the increasing interest rates and cost of living, buyers are putting in lower offers than before. 

There are still plenty of buyers around, but owners are now having to re-think on what they can achieve. This does work out if they are looking to buy onward as they then offer lower on their onward purchase, so it is all relative. As long as we are advising our clients and keeping them up-to-date on the market the business is progressing well.   

What are the key opportunities you are gearing towards as a company?  

The key opportunities we identify moving forward involve a concerted effort to be helpful and share our knowledge with our customers. We are also aiming to become the first agent in the area to become a “Living Wage Employer”.  

Of course, we want to continue to expand and grow the business while still providing our customers with the best service possible and it is vitally important to us to give back to the local community and local charities as much as we can. 

What are the biggest challenges you face? 

Our biggest challenge is finding dedicated, committed staff who are willing to learn and help take the company to the next level.  From an operational standpoint, another challenge is keeping cash flow running when completions are slow. 

How would you analyse the economic conditions that are influencing those challenges?  

Completions are impacted by the current economic climate as raising interest rates, mortgage rates and cost of living issues means that buyers are slower in purchasing.  

What projects or developments are you most proud of so far this year? 

We have grown to be the fourth-largest agent in our area in just over two and a half years.  We have employed two local people to work for our firm and we have also employed the services of another seven people who work on our business behind the scenes to help us grow, expand and develop the company. 

We have also won two major awards, one with the Federation of Small Business (FSB) for the Startup Business of the Year for Wales, and the other with StartUp Awards national series for Rural Startup of the Year for Wales.  

What are your goals for the future? 

For the remainder of 2023, we hope to continue to update and upgrade our website and mobile version, while also training and developing our staff to become better local property experts. 

What would be your advice for budding entrepreneurs?  

It is tough, have a good financial buffer to get you through the slow completions, and ensure you have the right staff to see you through and support you. 

Stay tuned for more insights from CEO’s across Wales.