1988 – 1999
1988
Vail Williams was formed with the merger of Pearson Williams & LS Vail & Son.
1988
Business turnover stood at £4 million, with 70 employees.
1988-1990
Steady growth under the stewardship of John Vail and Ken Williams as joint managing partners with the acquisition of Gibson Ely in Reading and Shepherd Dear in Staines.
1990
Thames Valley Office was formed when our Bracknell and Reading offices merged. It remains our largest office with over 50 staff.
1990s
Continued growth with new offices in Portsmouth in 1990, London in 1994, and Gatwick in 1995.
1997
John Vail retired from the business.
2000 – 2013
2003
Merger with Robert Shaw and Partners, building on our service offering to include planning. Opening of new office in Guildford, Surrey.
2004
Ken Williams retired from the business.
2006
Took on full LLP status.
2006
Acquired City Property Management, resulting in a new office in Birmingham.
2009
Acquired SMPA and relocated the London office to Chandos Street.
2013
Our 25th anniversary year, we celebrated with an all-staff trip to Paris.
2015 – 2017
2016
Acquired business rates specialist Bisset Moffatt Hill adding 10 business rates specialists ahead of 2017 Rating Revaluation.
2016
Relocated London office from Chandos Street to Dover Street, in the heart of Mayfair, to accommodate growing team.
2016
Relocated our Southampton office in May to account for further growth in the Solent region.
2016
Awarded one of the ‘The Best Places to Work in Property‘ by Property Week Magazine in November.
2017
Acquired 6-strong general rates division of Ruddle Merz in June, further strengthening business rates capabilities.
2017
Achieved the Silver Investors in People accreditation.
2018 – 2020
2018
Merged with south coast-based Hughes Ellard, creating Solent property powerhouse adding an experienced 25-strong team.
2018
Relocated our Portsmouth office that summer to account for continued growth.
2018
Having relocated from Guildford to Woking, we acquired Chertsey-based New Ballerino in November and opened new Surrey regional office.
2019
Acquired London-based Trilogie CRE in August, adding a 10-strong team.
2019
Achieved a 17% increase in revenues on the previous year to £16.7 million. Now employ a 180-strong team of property professionals across 8 offices.
2021+
2019-2021
Our next business plan targets revenues of £21 million under the stewardship of Managing Partner, Matthew Samuel-Camps.
2021
Merged with Cowling & West in Bournemouth, extending the firm’s reach further into Dorset.
2022
Relocated Thames Valley office to Apex in central Reading, relocated London office to Soho and Bournemouth office relocated to Wessex Fields.
2024
Acquired an office in Oxford to expand our offering within the Thames Valley region.
More about us
Learn more about us, from our unique approach, how we add value to clients, our positive impact in our communities, and our journey so far.
