What Recoco Property Search does

Recoco Property Search (legal entity: Recoco Property Limited, Company Number 09912769) is a privately held UK property buying agency founded in 1999 by Nigel Bishop and headquartered in Newton Abbot, Devon. The firm acts exclusively on behalf of buyers — not sellers — providing independent property search, negotiation, and acquisition advisory services for high-net-worth private clients seeking fine country houses, farms, estates, and development plots across the West Country (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and Berkshire) and London, with more recent extension into the Cotswolds and Bath & Bristol. The core offering is delivered through three service lines: Country Houses, Farms & Estates (led by Robin Thomas, formerly a Partner at Strutt & Parker for 30+ years), and Plots & Sites (led by Mike Henderson, with 35+ years of industry experience).

The business runs on a bespoke professional services model with no proprietary technology platform — there is no app, no API, no SaaS product, and no disclosed use of AI. Value is generated entirely through the expertise, chartered surveying credentials, local knowledge, and personal networks of the small specialist team (Nigel Bishop, Robin Thomas, Mike Henderson, plus Immi Bishop handling marketing). Revenue is derived from professional service fees for advising, negotiating, and purchasing on behalf of retained clients, with fee structures not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative: clients engage directly via website enquiry or by calling specialist agents, with relationship-building reinforced through long-running monthly editorial columns in Devon Life (since March 2015) and Coast Magazine (since January 2022), plus earned media in The Telegraph, Country Life, Country & Town House, and Spears Magazine. The firm is wholly founder-owned with no external institutional investment, no parent company, and no disclosed funding rounds, and holds relevant compliance registrations including UK GDPR, AML registration (XQML00000181422), and The Property Ombudsman membership (T00496). It celebrated its 25-year (Silver) anniversary in 2024.

Name

Recoco Property Search

Legal name

Recoco Property Limited

Website

https://recoco.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Recoco Property Search is a UK buying agency founded in 1999 that independently advises, negotiates, and purchases fine properties on behalf of high-net-worth private clients across the West Country and London, with specialist coverage of farms, estates, and development plots.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Buying Agency Services

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Real Estate Asset Management (BPAJAMAB)

Keywords

• Property buying agency
• Buying agent services
• Country house search
• Farm estate acquisition
• Plot site search

Headquarters

HQ city

Exeter

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Buying Agent Services: Recoco provides retained property search and acquisition services to private clients. Revenue is derived from professional service fees for advising, negotiating, and purchasing fine properties on behalf of clients. As a buying agency operating since 1999, fees are likely structured as a retainer or percentage of property value, though specific fee schedules are not publicly disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Recoco Property Search is an independent UK property buying agency founded in 1999 that advises, negotiates and purchases fine properties on behalf of retained private clients across the West Country and London. The firm specialises in country houses, farms, estates, and building plots, providing buyers with off-market access, due diligence, introductions to specialist solicitors/surveyors/mortgage brokers, and professional negotiation through to completion.

Product overview

Recoco Property Search operates as a buying agency providing a unified property finding and acquisition service. Founded in 1999, the company offers core buying agent services for residential properties across the West Country and London, complemented by specialized offerings for Farms & Estates and Plots & Sites. The company maintains extensive regional expertise and publishes editorial content through Devon Life and Coast Magazine partnerships. Founded by Nigel Bishop, the firm has grown organically over 25 years, building a team of qualified property professionals serving clients across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Berkshire, and London.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recoco Property Search - Buying Agents Retained, independent property buying agency service providing search, evaluation, negotiation and acquisition of fine country, waterside and London properties on behalf of private buyers across southern England.
• Farms & Estates Specialist buying agent service for agricultural properties, farms and estates across the South West, handling complex transactions including TUPE considerations for tenanted farms, VAT, SDLT and Capital Taxation Allowances, with introductions to Agricultural Mortgage Corporation and farm-specialist advisers.
• Plots & Sites Plot and site search service helping private clients find building plots and development opportunities (including disguised plots, large gardens and commercial properties with development potential), with guidance on planning history, covenants, overage provisions and introductions to multidisciplinary advisers.

Quantifiable outcome

• One of the first buying agencies in the country, established 1999, covering Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset initially, expanding organically to cover the entire south of England.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• The Country House Company: UK estate agency focused on country houses, farms, and rural properties in the South West and Wales, with overlapping specialisms to Recoco's Farms & Estates practice.

Broad incumbents

• Strutt & Parker: Heritage UK estate agency and rural consultancy offering property search, farms & estates, and country-house services that overlap with Recoco's specialisms. Notably, Recoco's Robin Thomas is a former Strutt & Parker Partner.
• Knight Frank: Global prime residential estate agency with a buyer-representation offering through Knight Frank's acquisition of Property Vision and its wider Residential Search service. A much larger incumbent that increasingly competes in the same buyer-side niche.
• Savills: Global real estate advisory with UK residential search services that overlap with the buying-agency value proposition for HNW clients, though Savils operates a much broader portfolio.
• Jackson-Stops & Staff: National estate agency with strong country-houses and rural property coverage across England, including the West Country. A broader incumbent with overlapping buyer-side and rural transaction expertise.
• John D Wood & Co. Long-established London and country estate agency offering buyer-side services within its broader sales and lettings portfolio, competing for the same HNW buyer mandate flow.

Direct peers

• Prime Purchase: UK buying agency serving high-net-worth purchasers, with specialists covering prime central London and the South East. Direct competitor in the same buyer-representation category.
• Garrington Property Finders: National UK buying agency offering property search and acquisition services for HNW buyers, with regional specialists across the country. Competes directly with Recoco for HNW mandate business.
• Property Vision: One of the UK's original buying agencies, founded in the early 2000s, acting exclusively for buyers of prime residential property across London and the Home Counties. Closely comparable in business model and category to Recoco.

Emerging players

• BuyAssociation: Online property-buying platform using technology to aggregate off-market stock and connect HNW buyers with sellers. A digitally enabled emerging threat to traditional boutique buying agencies like Recoco.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/recocopropertysearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/recoco

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Recoco Property Search