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Richard has been living in this part of Kent since 1979 and working in the Ashford commercial property market since 1985. Having studied at Southampton, he joined Geering & Colyer in the Ashford Office, transferring to Colyer Commercial in 1991 following a management buy-out, only leaving in 2007 to join Taylor Riley Stafford. Richard formed Stafford Perkins in the last half of 2016 when given the opportunity to do so following a unique set of circumstances which permitted him to create a locally based firm, specialising in Ashford and the Romney Marsh.

Over the years Richard has dealt with all aspects of commercial property; initially doing numerous bank valuations throughout the county before transferring to a more active agency role, where in recent years he has won several EGi awards for being the most “active agent” in Kent.

Stafford Perkins specialises in commercial property management, from stand-alone individual properties to multi-let industrial estates, office buildings and retail parades, providing numerous clients with a hands-on, proactive management service.

Richard deals with a wide range of professional work, not only dealing with the lease renewals and rent reviews thrown up by the property management portfolio but also doing numerous stand-alone Red Book Valuations for SIPP and Probate purposes as well as giving general valuation advice where required.

He is fairly active on the planning front, frequently dealing with finding alternative uses for redundant agricultural premises and general change of use applications.

Richard has taken an active role in professional life in Ashford, having been a former Chairman of Ashford Chamber of Commerce (1998-2000) and still remaining active on at least one of their committees since.

When not working, Richard enjoys life in his home village, trying to keep a 1972 Land Rover on the road to repeat trips to the deserts of Iceland and Morocco. Closer to home he tries to find time for fly fishing, shooting and enjoying family life.

Joe was born and raised in Kent, having only recently returned from the academic arena at Cirencester, Royal Ag. He is thrilled to start his career here at Stafford Perkins. Currently Joe is getting stuck-in dealing with our agency instructions be they industrial, office or retail. Alongside this he is also studying to become one of our qualified surveyors.

Outside of the workplace and when not studying Joe enjoys taking his spaniels for long walks and stays active by doing regular park runs with his family, which he does every other weekend in the build-up to the Kent spring marathon taking place in Ashford. Joe is also a very talented hockey player, most recently he represented university and Cirencester men’s teams and previous u18 Kent County player.

Welcome to the team Joe, exciting times ahead.

Paul joined us at Stafford Perkins following the acquisition of the property management division of Atrium Commercial Surveyors in January 2019. Since then he has stayed on to facilitate the smooth handover of the remaining work of Atrium with effect from January 2021 and will continue to help us in a consultancy role.

Paul has been working in Kent for many years, initially starting in the Medway towns with Walter and Randall until forming Atrium Surveyors and moving to Ashford.

Paul has experience right across the spectrum, but his speciality is commercial property agency work, having many clients both large and small. He is responsible for many of Ashford’s more significant deals in recent years and brings a wealth of experience to our team.

Alec is one of our Consultant Building Surveyors, all of whom joined us in 2018 to further enhance the range of services we are able to offer.

Alec studied at South Bank University and started his career working for housing trusts and the social housing sector across London. Returning to Sussex he extended his knowledge in this field working for a practice in Uckfield.

In the late 1990’s he entered the absolute opposite end of the market working for the respected Cadogan Estate, a family owned estate with large holdings around Sloane Square and Kings Road, Chelsea. In his capacity as an Estate Surveyor he gained experience in high value residential refurbishment, retail and commercial premises.

In 2004 Alec moved to New Zealand and became involved in large scale residential construction failure, which included a great deal of litigation and expert witness work. Furthering his experience he took on the management of a national commercial surveying consultancy, managing all aspects of the business and travelling across New Zealand and Australia.

In 2010 Alec returned to England to establish his own company providing Building Surveying Services and consults across Kent, East Sussex and London.

The second of our Consultant Building Surveyors is David Witcombe. Working in the Ashford/Maidstone areas, David can provide you with a thorough Building Survey with a photographic record of his findings to give you peace of mind before your next house purchase.

A Building Survey is the most comprehensive inspection on a house and includes a list of essential repairs with suggested costings, advice on the maintenance work that will be required, and a full inspection for subsidence and dampness.

David specialises in Building Surveys on older and Listed Houses. After completing a degree in Building Surveying in 2003, he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 2006 and also completed an MSc in Building Conservation in 2012. He has carried out surveys on all types of property from timber shacks at Dungeness through to Grade I Listed country houses.

James is the third of our Consultant Building Surveyors, with over 25 years' experience in the area. James' expertise ranges from traditional buildings and building methods to a thorough knowledge of up to date construction standards. He also has over 20 years' experience as a Party Wall Surveyor.
If you're looking for bespoke advice, guidance and peace of mind, whether your property is a traditional farm house, a Listed manor house or a sea-side cottage, our Building Surveyors are the people to talk to.

Jane moved to Kent from Northamptonshire in 1996 and has been working in the company administration and bookkeeping line, becoming self-employed in 2002.

Jane specialises in the agricultural fraternity and is able to assist us in a lot of our property management work as well as the general bookkeeping function within the company. Jane can generally be found in the office on a Monday or other days by appointment.

When not in the office or working for her other clients Jane can be found looking after her ponies and catching bigger trout than Richard! She is a late-comer to the shooting field but is taking to it with alacrity also.

The offices of Stafford Perkins are run by Ruth Paddon and Teresa Smith who have both worked with Richard for more than 10 years. They deal with the reception and administration to ensure the smooth running of the office and are always happy to assist clients and applicants with any issues they may have and help us to maintain high standards of service and fully embrace the firm’s ethos of “going the extra mile” to achieve the best we possibly can.

Ruth works on Monday and Thursday all day, Tuesday & Friday mornings. ruth@staffordperkins.co.uk.

Teresa is in all day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Teresa@staffordperkins.co.uk

Do you think you have what it takes to join our team?

We are always looking for enthusiastic and proactive people to help us grow our business and share in our success. If you think you have something to offer then please do get in touch and tell us about yourself.