JMChase are pleased to announce the expansion of our Sussex team. Sophie Hatcher will be joining us to cover the East Sussex/Kent area and work alongside Henry Forbes who will act for clients across West Sussex/ East Hampshire and south Surrey.
Due to living in Twineham (Nr Hurstpierpoint) for the last five years and educating her two boys locally, Sophie’s knowledge of her patch is fantastic. Sophie’s route to being a Buyer’s Agent is perhaps less conventional, but through working in London is the commercial property world and as a head hunter in the property agency sector this is an obvious next step. Like so many of our clients she made the move from Southwest London.
She joins the very experienced Henry Forbes to cover Sussex. Henry through a more traditional route worked for Savills, Knight Frank, Jackson Stops and The Buying Solution on his way to joining JMChase in 2023.
While both have adopted Sussex as their home, they both married Sussex locals with long histories in the county, you
would not know it when listening to the passion they display when promoting its virtues!
Sophie comments; “Buyers are often driven by returning to where they grew up, a certain school, a commuting distance and sometimes just falling in love with a specific house! When we decided to leave London, having searched across other areas, in my case it was the later. We actually knew the area pretty well through friends and family, found a brilliant school for the boys and I have loved learning more about it as I chase my children around for their different sports and activities”.
Sussex is an amazing county with the South Downs and Ashdown Forest (home of Pooh Bear) offering some beautiful countyside, estates like Cowdray, Goodwood and Arundel mean that great swathes are untouched and beautifully managed, but with diversification at their heart offering the polo, cricket, racing amongst other activities.
Henry says “While our roots were always in Sussex, we moved to the beautiful Cotswolds for work, a com
bination of the opportunity to work for JMChase; and old clients and friends constantly asking for property advice it made the move back to Sussex an obvious one. He continues; “My parents eventually settled in Sussex and my wife’s family have a long connection to the county and the various cricket clubs around the area”. “Living near Midhurst and with my eldest son part of the Sussex Cricket Pathway; we love all the area has to offer and we are now fully invested in the county.”
Via the A3 and M23 the road connections to London are fantastic. The commute into London Victoria via Haywards Heath taking about 45mins or London Waterloo from Petersfield or Haslemere in around an hour is very doable. There are many options for excellent independent schools and are again a huge pull for families moving to the county.George Burnand (Hampshire and West Berkshire) says “As a business we pride ourselves on having consultants who live and breathe the patches they work in!” he concludes “Both Sophie and Henry epitomise these characteristics and we are very lucky to have two such talented, knowledgeable and enthusiastic colleagues covering Sussex for us”.
For more information on what we do and how we work contact Henry on hforbes@jmchase.co.uk and Sophie on shatcher@jmchase.co.uk
