Edinburgh estate agent goes bust as crunch hits house market sales

Apr 4 2008

A top Scottish estate agent has gone bust after falling victim to the slump in the housing market.

Edinburgh-based Stewart Saunders has been placed in liquidation and has closed with immediate effect.

Formed in 1976 and based in Frederick Street in the centre of Edinburgh, Stewart Saunders had become a leading player in the estate agency sector with a substantial portfolio of clients in the East of Scotland.

However, the business has been severely affected by the contraction in the housing market, with sales and income down significantly during the last year, and increasingly so in the last several months.

After an extensive review, the ow ers of Stewart Saunders appointed Tom MacLennan, of Tenon Recovery, to manage the closure of the business.

MacLennan said the closure of such a respected brand as Stewart Saunders was a clear indication that the housing market is in some difficulty.

"The much documented credit crunch and rapid tightening of lending criteria by mortgage companies has clearly affected consumer confidence and sales," he said.

"Estate agents across Scotland will be concerned by this closure."

And he added: "Unfortunately the closure of the business has resulted in all 10 staff being made redundant with immediate effect.

"My team and I will try to assist them as much as possible during this difficult period. We are also working quickly to transfer all the clients to other estate agencies, and hope to complete that process by the end of the week."