Spear’s Review

Rupert Stephenson is the regional director for Devon, Dorset and Somerset at prime property buying agency Black Brick. 

With over 30 years of experience in property, including running his own buying agency, Stephenson sees himself as an expert in ‘finding the impossible’, sourcing country property, farms and estates across south-west England. He tells Spear’s that 60 to 70 per cent of all his properties are sourced off-market, and here experience is key: ‘You can’t just become a buying agent; you’ve got to have a really good background.’

Stephenson has built up quite the ‘black book’ of contacts, and clients have included celebrities and numerous corporate and financial services executives. Since he only takes on a handful at a time, Stephenson is able to invest his efforts into making sure that his clients get what they really want: ‘It’s still a people business, what we do, and it’s really important to me that they feel properly looked after.’