One of the most experienced operators in the market, Mackie co-founded Property Vision with Charlie Ellingworth in 1984. Together they are credited with creating the buying agent industry, and continue to run its most prominent collective.
‘We’re by far the biggest company doing it, and probably the only brand,’ he says. He’s not wrong: the firm distinguished itself early on with a non-sales-commission-based approach and a willingness to impart honest, independent advice.
‘What we realised years ago is that you can buy if you have certain skills, or you can sell if you have certain skills… There’s a lot of people out there who start off as a buying agent and quite quickly start selling because they suddenly realise how difficult it is.’ He estimates that two-thirds of buying agents active today started off as buying agents but now also have to sell because they don’t have enough clients.
‘That will come out in the wash. This year [2015] we’ve gone out in a low-volume market with high-value deals. We’ve done deals in London at £25 million, £45 million; we’ve just done another at £35 million… We are brought in because of our knowledge and expertise in how to structure these deals. They’re like buying small companies — if you think about it, many companies are worth less.’
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The friendly and perspicacious St Moritz Toboganning Club member runs his family estate in Northern Ireland and chairs an Irish grouse conservation project. He also enjoys horseriding and watching ballet at the Royal Opera House.
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