Bidwells

Bidwells LLP is an independent property consultancy currently managing over £5.2 billion in property assets and employing 550 people in England and Scotland.[2]

Bidwells
Limited liability partnership
IndustryReal estate
Founded1839
Headquarters
Cambridge
Key people
Patrick McMahon, Senior Partner
ProductsResidential, commercial, rural property & services
Revenue £50.25 million (2019)[1]
Number of employees
500+ (2019)
Websitebidwells.co.uk

In addition to its Head Office in Cambridge, Bidwells have four other offices in England. These offices are based in Oxford, Milton Keynes, Norwich and London as well as four in Scotland, consisting of Aberdeen, Fort William, Inverness and Perth.

Bidwells helps investors, developers, occupiers, house builders and home owners to harness the benefits of the growth in these markets and represents over 44% of all real estate activity in the UK.[3]

Established in 1839, Bidwells has retained many of its original clients, including some of the best-known colleges in Oxford and Cambridge who are among the biggest landowners in the UK.

In addition, Bidwells has a strong rural presence and manages thousands of square miles of the English and Scottish countryside and coastline. It is one of the leading consultancies in the high-growth forestry, renewable, and agriculture markets.[4]

Property Week ranks Bidwells in its Top 20 Property Consultants, making it the 11th largest UK agency (by turnover).[5]

Services
  • Agribusiness
  • Building Conservation and Architecture
  • Building Surveying
  • Business Space Agency
  • Capital Markets 
  • Consultancy and Valuation
  • Energy and Renewables
  • Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)
  • Estate Management
  • Forestry
  • Fund Management
  • Heritage Planning
  • Hospitality, Retail and Leisure
  • Lease Consultancy
  • New Homes
  • Planning
  • Project Management
  • Residential Development
  • Urban Design Studio

Culture
Bidwells Cambridge headquarters

Bidwells is a limited liability partnership. All employees share in its profit share or a bonus scheme. In a 2017/18 analysis of seven of its closest competitors, Bidwells was the only property consultancy to pay a bonus to 100 per cent of its staff.

In January 2018, Bidwells' Cambridge headquarters re-opened officially after a refurbishment project to create Cambridge's first fully agile refurbished work space.  The three-storey 21,000 sq ft building has no internal offices, other than meeting rooms, and no-one has their own permanent desk. Bidwells' Milton Keynes, Perth and Oxford offices have also been made agile.[6]

Bidwells’ Bwell programme looks at the emotional and physical well-being of its staff, promoting the importance of well-being mindfulness courses, awareness activities on mental and physical health and other supporting initiatives.

Golden Triangle Focus  

Over 80% of Bidwells’ work is concentrated in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London, including sector-leading work in the science & technology, and education sectors. Around 30% of Bidwells’ business is dedicated to advising the top two Universities in the world; Oxford and Cambridge.[7]

Science and Technology

Bidwells currently advises on over 10 million square feet of science related real estate. Science and Technology focussed clients include the owners of Cambridge Science Park, Cambridge Biomedical Campus and Harwell Campus. In addition, it advises Imperial College, London, Innovate UK and University of Cambridge.[8]

Cambridge to Oxford Arc  

In December 2018, Bidwells hosted the first Cambridge to Oxford Corridor conference in partnership with EG.

The Cambridge-Oxford economic corridor will see a new rail link between Oxford and Cambridge by 2024 and a new Expressway road by 2030.[9]

Bidwells research found that the area already contributes £90 billion a year to the UK economy which could grow to £400 billion by 2050 with the area benefiting from up to five new towns and villages, one million new homes, 15-20 million sq ft of new office and lab space, and 30 - 40 million sq ft of industrial space.[10]

Bidwells 180th Anniversary

In 2019, Bidwells is celebrating its 180th anniversary.

It's running a firm-wide charity fundraising initiative: The Bidwells Grand Challenge. Each member of Bidwells is being asked to raise £180 for their chosen charities of the year – Maggie's Centres and Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance.[11]

Bidwells Bike Ride

For the fourth year, Bidwells is running its annual Bike Ride, which raises money for Maggie's and have cyclists paddling from Oxford to Cambridge.

On 5 September 2019, bike riders are tackling a 180 km course from Oxford to Cambridge.[12]

Key Dates for Bidwells

1800-1900
  • 1839 Charles Muriel Bidwell commences business in Ely.
  • 1866 Charles Bidwell Jnr joins the firm.
  • 1874 Charles Bidwell Snr dies.
  • 1880 Cambridge office in Mill Lane opens.

1900-1950
  • 1905 Charles Bidwell Jnr becomes President of the RICS.
  • 1920 Norman Hodgkinson becomes a Partner – The firm moves into commercial work.
  • 1921 Charles retires from the business and is succeeded by his two sons, John and Philip.
  • 1922 Charles Bidwell dies.
  • 1935 Purchase of Trimley Estate for Trinity College.
  • 1939 Francis Pemberton joins the firm.
  • 1940 Francis Pemberton manages the Trimley Estate.
  • 1941 Francis Pemberton moves to Cambridge.

1950-2000
  • 1955 The firm moves to Kings Parade.
  • 1968 New office opened at Trumpington.
  • 1976 Francis Pemberton knighted.
  • 1981 Tim Lawson becomes Senior Partner.
  • 1985 London Office opens.
  • 1987 Jas W. King acquired at Perth.
  • 1988 Stone Cross Office opens.
  • 1989 John Tweddle becomes Senior Partner. Norwich Office opens.
  • 1990 Ipswich Office opens.
  • 1992 Inverness Office opens.
  • 1994 James Buxton becomes Managing Partner.
  • 1995 Anthony Hart becomes Managing Partner in Scotland. Northampton Office opens.
  • 1999 The Professional Services Division is formed. London Office moves to Pollen Street. Partnership Structure is changed.

2000-2010
  • 2000 James Buxton becomes Senior Partner. West Highlands Estates Office joins Bidwells.
  • 2003 Acquisition of Drake and Partners Opening of Milton Keynes Office.
  • 2004 Acquisition of Carpenter Planning Consultancy New offices open in Chelmsford and Saffron Walden.
  • 2005 Acquisition of TCC Architects & Bret Hallworth & Co Ltd.
  • 2008 Acquisition of rural surveying practice Faulkners. Building Consultancy win two highly commended David Urwin Awards.
  • 2009 Bidwells convert to Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).
  • 2009 Bidwells' Planning team maintained position within the Top 20 Planning Consultancies in the UK.
  • 2009 The Firm received Property Adviser of the Year in the Eastern Region Award from the Estates Gazette.
  • 2010 Patrick McMahon takes over as Senior Partner. Finlay Clark takes over as Managing Partner of Scotland.

2010-current
  • 2011 Milton Keynes Office moves to John Ormond House. Oxford Office opens. Sir Francis Pemberton dies at 95. Sir Francis had a huge influence on the early years of Bidwells including working with Trinity College on the creation of the Cambridge Science Park.
  • 2013 Bidwells becomes a founding member of Cambridge Ahead (CA) a group of major Cambridge businesses and academics dedicated to the long-term future of the city.[13]
  • 2014 Bidwells celebrates its 175th anniversary by raising £175,000.
  • 2015 Bidwells acted as adviser to the Wellcome Trust on its acquisition of the Co-operative Group's farm business for £249m - the biggest agri-investment deal in the UK to date and the largest global deal of its kind.[14]
  • 2015 Bidwells acquires the O2 Arena, world-renowned entertainment venue on behalf of Trinity College.
  • 2016 Bidwells spin out business Creative Places wins the Estates Gazette Specialist Advisor of the Year Award.[15]
  • 2016 The Cambridge Business Space Agency team tops the EGi Market League Table for the tenth year in a row.[16]
  • 2016 Bidwells re-brands itself.
  • 2016 Bidwells Golden Triangle Bike Ride from Oxford to Cambridge is held for the first time.
  • 2017 Bidwells wins Employer of the Year at the Cambridge News Business Excellence Awards.[17]
  • 2018 Bidwells’ Cambridge headquarters re-opened officially after a refurbishment project to create the city's most agile workspace.[18]
  • 2018 Bidwells’ project management team lead the Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre at Worcester College in Oxford, which won the RIBA South Region award for best building and is later that year a finalist in the Stirling Prize.[19]
  • 2018 Property Week ranks Bidwells as 11th largest UK agency (by turnover) in its annual survey of property agents.[20]
  • 2018 Planning Magazine ranks Bidwells as the 15th largest planning consultancy in the UK.[21]
  • 2018 EG and Bidwells holds its inaugural Growth Corridor event at Goodenough College London with more than 400 guest and 14 high-profile speakers.
  • 2019 Bidwells announces its turnover (2018) for the Firm broke the £50m mark for the first time ever.[22]
  • 2019 Bidwells’ Scotland headquarters moves, after more than 30 years, from Atholl Place in Perth to Broxden House.
  • 2019 Bidwells celebrates its 180th year in business with its staff all committing to raise £180 for its chosen charities.
  • 2019 Bidwells wins the Property Marketing Awards’ Best Thought Leadership Campaign for its Cambridge-Oxford Arc work.[23]
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See also

References
  1. Business Weekly
  2. "The Most Beautiful Universities in the World". Bidwells - Well informed. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  3. "Milton Keynes". Bidwells - Well informed. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  4. "Crown Estate Scotland - Media centre - News, media releases & opinion - Action to benefit Holy Loch sailors". www.crownestatescotland.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  5. Parsley, David; Creasey, Simon; Barbiroglio, Emanuela; Hook2018-07-26T23:00:00+01:00, Richard. "Agency 2018: CBRE remains leader of resilient agency pack". Property Week. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  6. "| Cambridge Network". www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  7. "Can we count on Cambridge-London-Oxford Golden Triangle to boost the UK economy?". Growth Business. 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  8. "20,000 new jobs and £2.8bn payback if Oxbridge hits demand for new labs | Business Weekly | Technology News | Business news | Cambridge and the East of England". www.businessweekly.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  9. "Oxford-Cambridge Arc". Bidwells - Well informed. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  10. "Corridors of power worth billions to the region and the UK economy: But what's the brand? | Business Weekly | Technology News | Business news | Cambridge and the East of England". www.businessweekly.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  11. "180 years of innovation - 365 days of fundraising". Bidwells - Well informed. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  12. "Cycle Challenge". Bidwells - Well informed. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  13. "Our Members - Cambridge Ahead". www.cambridgeahead.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  14. "Wellcome Trust acquires the Co-operative Group's farms business for £249 million | Wellcome". wellcome.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  15. "EG Awards 2016 – the winners". EGi. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  16. "Bidwells once again stays top of the Cambridge market league table for the 10th year in a row". Bidwells - Well informed. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  17. Gooding, Matt (2017-03-24). "Pictures from the Cambridge Business Excellence Awards 2017". cambridgenews. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  18. "Bidwells opens new 'agile' workspace in Cambridge". Cambridge Independent. 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  19. "The Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre". www.architecture.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  20. Parsley, David; Creasey, Simon; Barbiroglio, Emanuela; Hook2018-07-26T23:00:00+01:00, Richard. "Agency 2018: CBRE remains leader of resilient agency pack". Property Week. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  21. Branson, Adam. "The Planning Consultancy Survey 2018: the UK's biggest employers". www.planningresource.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  22. "Bidwells passes £50m annual turnover for first time as it marks 180th anniversary". Cambridge Independent. 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  23. Sherwin, Sarah (2019-06-27). "Winners of the Property Marketing Awards 2019". Property Marketing Awards. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
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