An all-female fixed-fee estate agency is calling in the police after nearly 30 of its For Sale boards were stolen or vandalised in recent months.
Manor Estate Agents based in the Glasgow satellite town of Uddingston is unusual because it markets itself as an ‘all female’ business and styles its team of negotiators as ‘manor angels’.
Set up two years ago by Sandra Hill and now employing four staff but with no high street offices, the 42-year-old claims her business is being targeted by an orchestrated campaign and that the criminals involved are using the company’s online listings to identify where the agency’s boards are located.
Hill also says that she has become concerned about the safety of her staff and has stopped accepting appointments after 7pm.
‘Boardgate’
The company originally dubbed the campaign ‘boardgate’ and made light of the for sale board thefts, but the problem has continued and Hill and her co-director Sarah Hart have decided to call in the police.
“When I saw a board kicked down yards from a house, I got really upset. You put your heart and soul into this, and a lot of your own investment,” Hill told local media.
“It’s kind of heart-breaking that somebody wants to attack a small agency. We are not impinging on anybody else. All of our business is through word of mouth. It is hitting us in the pocket, and it is not fair.”
Manor Estate Agents says the thefts have cost it £800 so far. The company charges vendors a flat fee to sell their home and does not have a high street office.
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