Savills veteran launches luxury agency to ‘modernise’ the industry

Former senior Savills director Trevor Kearney has unveiled his own luxury agency venture called The Private Office: Real Estate, aiming to overhaul ‘outdated’ agency commission structures

He is taking his decades of experience with prime agency brands including Savills and Knight Frank to launch his own   will use his decades of experience with a US-style property brokerage model.

The Private Office: Real Estate is providing agents with commission of up to 50% of billings earned on sales, compared to the industry average of roughly 9%.

Underlining how the new approach to business sets The Private Office: Real Estate apart from the field, Kearney, who left Savills after almost a decade in February, said: “The traditional agency model is outdated and has failed to modernise in line with today’s agile, sophisticated clientele. 

“Commission structures at the large incumbent real estate firms are unfair on agents and the profit goes directly into the business’ bottom line. At the same time, clients are not listened to or dealt with in the right way.

“We will change that. Our stated offer to those who work with us and who we work for is: ‘Experience the Exquisite’ - and that’s what we will deliver. We are a people-first business, passionate about super prime and helping our clients realise their dreams and achieve their objectives.”

Launching with a team of nine with its HQ in Guildford, Surrey, the agency also offers a dedicated sport and entertainment business arm, an elite service for clients across both industries which offers absolute discretion and privacy for vendors and clients. 

Completing the offering, The Private Office has crafted a full lifestyle management business to support its clients.

As part of its group, it is launching a standalone business – The Private Office: Protect - to provide the ultimate service for the agency’s ultra-high net worth individual (UHNWI) clients, giving high-end advice and solutions through gold standard approach.

He added:  “The Private Office’s more attractive payment structures, breaking the mould which other agencies simply cannot achieve due to rigid corporate structures.

“My aim and that of my colleagues is to have the UK’s very best agents working with us, nurturing and promoting entrepreneurial spirit all with an unwavering commitment to wanting to sell the world’s best homes and benefit the industry at the same time.”