HARRIET Gascoigne-Pees may be starting a new business but it is very much a case of going back to the future.

That is because the Gascoigne-Pees name has been synonymous with the Oxfordshire estate agency scene for more than 80 years.

It was back in 1932 that her grandfather, Eric, started his first business in Oxford and eventually grew to 35 branches.

Ms Gascoigne-Pees, 35, said: “It was one of the first estate agents to specialise in houses at the higher end of the market and country properties.

“It was eventually sold to Lloyds in the late 1980s and was the first agency to be bought by a bank.”

Now she has set up her own agency, GP Residential, and is following in his footsteps, having been inspired at an early age.

“Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to do my own thing and for the last ten years I have saved and saved.”

GP Residential locates properties for investors looking to add to their portfolios.

She will also specialise in offering a bespoke service for people selling homes worth more than £1.5m.

This will involve a ‘highly personal’ approach where she will help clients with decluttering and “staging” their home to look its best to potential buyers.

The two types of clients will then be brought together.

Many investors will be from abroad and she will pick them up from Heathrow and bring them to Oxford to view a property, even offering interpreter services.

She said: “I’m going to be taking on between 15 and 20 houses a year.”

Ms Gascoigne-Pees will also be working with contacts in the US who will be working with investors.

She added: “There is a real influx of buyers coming from America.”

There are bespoke property agencies in London but Ms Gascoigne-Pees believes it is high time such a service was offered in Oxford, a city that has global appeal to investors, as well as a naturally buoyant property market.

Having worked in estate agency in Oxford for the likes of Hamptons International, Kemp & Kemp and, most recently, Knight Frank, Ms Gascoine-Pees has a wealth of experience in properties at the top end of the market.

But she knows that what she is doing is different.

“Estate agents will sit in an office focusing on certain areas but I will work with my clients and direct them to a certain solicitor or surveyor, keep them up to date and push deals through to completion.”

Such a tailored service sounds unusual in today’s competitive market but it is exactly what her grandfather was doing all those years ago.

Ms Gascoigne-Pees said: “I have come full circle. He would be proud.”

Call 01865 246399 or see gpresidential.com