Henry Adams, an independent estate agency operating across southern England, has reached its 200th year of continuous operation, having been established in 1826 in Chichester.
The firm currently employs 175 staff across 16 offices in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, handling property sales, lettings, commercial property, planning, land and development, holiday cottages and auctions. The company reports an annual property sales pipeline valued at approximately £500 million.
From livestock to property
The business originated as Wyatt & Son, founded by Edward Wyatt, a farmer who initially dealt in livestock sales when Chichester operated a town market. The firm subsequently expanded into agricultural valuations, auctioneering and surveying.
The company’s current name derives from chartered surveyor and auctioneer Henry Adams, who joined the firm in 1952. Adams became a senior partner and ran the business alongside Simon Lush until 1990, including a period of affiliation with Prudential’s property division during the 1980s. The business was renamed Henry Adams in 1991.
Family succession
David Adams, son of Henry Adams, currently leads the firm. Henry Adams retired from the business in 2022.
“From our beginnings as agricultural valuers to the multidisciplinary property firm we are today, the business has continued to evolve with every generation,” David Adams stated. “But the values that shaped the firm in the Georgian era, of dedication, respect, teamwork and know-how, remain just as important today as they were nearly two centuries ago.”
The milestone places Henry Adams among a small number of UK estate agencies with operational histories spanning two centuries, reflecting the evolution of the property sector from agricultural markets to modern residential and commercial services.
