Spear’s Review

Senior director Oliver Custance Baker heads Strutt & Parker’s national country house department. He joined the firm after leaving university over a decade ago – taking a work experience placement before promptly being offered a full-time job – and has stayed ever since. ‘It’s a great firm to be involved with,’ he tells Spear’s.

The firm lists ‘the best country houses’ worth £2 million and up, he explains, adding that property transactions can stretch into the tens of millions and that the largest homes are purchased by international buyers. Strutt & Parker has a national reach, with transactions taking place from the southern home counties up to prime and super-prime properties in Scotland and the northern counties. ‘We’ve seen a lot of activity in Wiltshire,’ he reports, where ‘good family homes sell because it’s relatively easy for people to get there’. 

What’s his best piece of advice for buyers? ‘Every house is slightly different. And it’s the case of seeing it, and falling in love with the home.’