Northampton estate pledges £100 for every home marketed to NHS fund as branches get back to businesses

A Northampton estate agent is getting back to business...and raising money for the NHS in the county at the same time.

Jackson Grundy reopened its 11 offices this week after an easing of the Government's Covid-19 restrictions and following advice on how to operate safely for both staff and customers.

And the estate is aiming to raise £10,000 for the Northamptonshire Health Charity.

Nick Rees, director, explained: "For every house we put on the market, we will donate £100 to the charity. It is not dependent on selling the house - as soon as it goes on the market, we will donate the money, regardless of what happens with the house.

"It started on Monday and we are running until the end of June.

"We wanted to set something up for the NHS - Captain Tom did his bit for the national charity and we wanted to support the local NHS charity," he added.

In the first week of the offices reopening, they have already raised £950 - the £50 came from an anonymous donation - and Nick expects more to be added over the weekend, with business strong.

And it couldn't come soon enough after a tough last two months.

"It has been horrendous. There was no way for us to generate any revenue. We couldn't do appointments or viewings. We tried our best and made video valuations and offered virtual tours - but no-one would obviously buy a house without seeing it in person.

"We have been very busy this week, there is a real appetite to put houses on the market. We have seen a lot of pent-up demand this week," he added.

The priority in reopening has been ensuring the safety of staff and customers.

"We have given thorough industry guidelines by the government, staff have been issued with masks and we have taken extra precautions," he said.

In terms of the future of the housing market, Nick says it is still too early to tell.

"I think we would have seen high levels of activity this week, almost regardless because of the backlog of the last couple of months. I am more optimistic now than I was a few weeks ago - the mood music from the lenders seems more optimistic than before.

"I would say I am cautiously optimistic," he added.

Nick backed the Chron's Your Town Needs You campaign, which supports independent businesses as they start the process of reopening.

"We fully support the Chron's campaign - whenever we source something providers and suppliers, we always do so wherever we can," he added.