Andrew Grant started his estate agency in 1971 when he was just 26 years old. Since then the company has become quite literally a household name in Worcestershire.

Andrew started his journey into the property business with agricultural auctions at 16 before spending time in working as an estate agent in Birmingham, Kidderminster and Bromsgrove before setting up his Worcester office.

Today Andrew Grant Estate Agents is one of the best known firms in the county, with over 70,000 clients per year.

It was not easy at first, and Andrew remembers the early days well, saying: “I started out in a tiny office with just me and one other person.

"In the early days, most of the business was from friends and contacts such as builders who would give me houses to sell..

“In those days, estate agents in Worcester did not advertise in the windows, but I had done that in Kidderminster, so I started doing it here.”

The property business has changed dramatically in the years Andrew Grant has been in business, he describes the change as ‘happening almost by the month’ saying: “The amount of paperwork and contracts you have to send off is very different to how it was when I started.”

“We were selling a house not so long ago and did video for it which went online and we had over 8,000 enquiries.

“That was almost entirely down to the internet and the use of video.”

There are three important factors Andrew, 73, credits with the success of the business: Listening, personality and luck. He says: “The most important thing is to have a bit of luck, and if you are professional and have personality, you can go far.

“One of the things I always tell people in the office is to pick up the phone and talk to people. Even if you can email them just as easily.

“If you listen to what people think is important, you gain a much deeper understanding.