Gurpreet Bassi
Gurpreet Bassi is Chief Executive of Bond Wolfe Auctions (part of the Bond Wolfe Group established in 1983).
Gurpreet launched Bond Wolfe Auctions in January 2019 and has led the business to become the number 1 Auctioneer in the Midlands and one of the most successful in UK.
- Tell us a little bit about your business…
I launched Bond Wolfe in January 2019 and since then, we have offered over 2400 properties for auction, selling 92% of them and we have raised over £250m in sales making us the Number 1 Auctioneer in the Midlands and one of the most successful in the UK. We are also the appointed Auctioneer for Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police, Wolverhampton Council and Walsall Council.
- How did you get into the industry?
I Joined Bigwood Chartered Surveyors at the age of 19 as a “Junior” (I suppose you would call it apprentice these days). I worked in various departments and developed a broad and rounded knowledge of the property industry. I really enjoyed the Auction business and decided to focus on that. I worked my way up to director level and became the youngest director in the company’s history at the age of 26.
- What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
I think there will be lots of opportunities for us in the coming months and years particularly within digital/online auctions. Our business has had to adapt majorly over the past 12 months, and I think that many of the processes that we have adopted will be implemented by us going forwards.
Also, with many other industries and businesses facing their own challenges post Covid-19, we will make ourselves available to help sell any properties/land that these businesses are looking to dispose of to raise funds. I believe that we have made auctions more accessible and have seen many bidders from across the UK and lots of bidders from around the world.
The biggest challenge remains the issue of Covid-19 which not only affecting our sector, but every other sector. Although, as a business we have adapted well and continue to achieve record-breaking results for our clients, we will continue to monitor the ongoing and everchanging situation with regards to the virus.
The truth is nobody really knows what the long-term effects of the virus will be on our industry, but I welcome the extension of the stamp duty holiday and I think this has had a positive effect on the confidence of property purchasers.
- How would you describe your leadership style?
My leadership style comes from my own experiences in business- I have worked in businesses with poor management and I have worked for managers that take credit for their staff’s hard work and did not give them their due recognition or praise. I like to think that I am the complete opposite! I like to empower my team and encourage them to be the very best that they can be both personally and professionally, and I encourage an open and honest working environment. I also think that I lead by example- the staff know that I have worked my way up from a junior position and that I have done the roles/tasks that I ask them to do.
- How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
It is important for me to give praise where it is due, make everyone feel like a valued and essential part of the company and ensure that the whole team celebrates the successes together. Each member of staff has a personal development plan which includes yearly and five yearly personal and business goals. I appointed an external performance and development coach to work individually and confidentially with each member of staff, to really bring out the best in everyone and ensure they fulfil their potential and future aspirations, both professionally and personally. Many of our management team have equity in our business and they treat the business as if it is their own and that is one of the major factors in the success of Bond Wolfe Auctions.
- What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
Without question it is the people in the business. Our staff are our biggest and most important resource, which is why I invest so heavily in them. The success that we have achieved would have been impossible if not for their hard work, dedication, and trust.
- How has the past 12 months been for you?
During the first national Lockdown in March 2021, I used the time to plan for the future. We invested heavily in developing a bespoke buyers’ registration system and this has been fundamental to success of the business post-lockdown. Throughout this time, we were not reliant on any government funding and continued to hold good cash reserves. This puts us in a positive position to deal with any future uncertainty.
Our team returned to work in May having put necessary measures in place to make our work environment as safe as possible, and we then had to re-model our entire business. Our business was built around having “live events” with thousands of people congregating in a room, but this was obviously going to be impossible.
After lots of planning, hard work, early mornings, and very late nights, we held our first “live streamed only” auction on 24 June.
There were lots of nerves in the build-up, but the team adapted incredibly well, selling 125 of the 128 properties on offer which represented a success rate of 98%, and we raised over £17 million in sales.
The staggering thing for me though was learning that we had an audience of over 33,000 people watching the auction live. Of course, we would never be able to get this many people into a traditional auction room.
Despite all of the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the demand for property appeared to be as strong as ever.
- Is there anything you’ve learnt during the pandemic that you’ll take forward in your business?
The growth in the number of bidders that now see auctions as a viable and accessible route to purchase has surprised me. Many of these bidders would never have attended a traditional room auction and feel more comfortable bidding online. Even when we return to the room, we will see many bidders choose to continue to bid remotely.
Also, the flexibility with working patterns- there is no need to be tied to your desk or in board rooms all day, with modern technology I think that we can all make an adjustment to how we work. I think a hybrid of the “old way” and the way in which we are currently working is the way forward for us.
- What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
Looking ahead, what will the property and auction market look like post-Brexit and after the effect of the pandemic? The real answer is that nobody can say for sure. I do strongly believe that we can look ahead with optimism, particularly in the regions. I feel that the Midlands in particular will continue to thrive with the Commonwealth Games, HS2 and Coventry City of Culture having positive impacts.
Many people still feel property is the safest investment and I believe that this will always be the case. We are also seeing money from London and abroad coming into the regions where buyers feel there is better value for them.
In terms of auctions specifically, will we ever go back to holding traditional in-room auctions? I believe that we will, however we will continue to see many bidders choosing to bid online or by the phone. We may see a hybrid of the “old way” and the new way that we are currently operating.
Smaller auction businesses that struggle to fill the room will probably elect to continue working as they are. But our traditional in-room auctions are more than just an auction. They are events where thousands of property people can mix and you can feel the buzz of business happening and connections being made.
I have been to many auctions up and down the country and I have to say that our in-room auctions are truly unique.
The plan for Bond Wolfe is to become one of the largest and most successful property brands in the UK. We have very ambitious growth plans as we look to move into new regions and add other sectors of the property industry to our business to become a multi-disciplined real estate company.
- What are the highlights of your career so far?
I am fortunate to have had many highlights such as becoming the youngest director at Bigwood and winning multiple industry and national business awards.
The main highlight for me though was launching Bond Wolfe Auctions in January 2019 and then holding our first auction on 13th March 2019. The countless hours of hard work and planning, as well as the sleepless nights were all worthwhile!
- What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
I wouldn’t necessarily call it a mistake, but I do wish that I had started Bond Wolfe Auctions 1 or 2 years earlier than I did.
I did not enjoy my role during my last few years with my previous employer and I felt like myself and my team were not given the credit we deserved for the record-breaking results we were achieving. Other people appeared to be making decisions that directly impacted me and my team without consulting me, despite my area of the business significantly outperforming their division. The environment had become unworkable. I became extremely concerned about the health and wellbeing of some members of staff and the future of the business. Many of the staff were thinking of leaving the company and the industry altogether. This was one of the main reasons that I decided to start Bond Wolfe Auctions. Yes, I wanted to pursue my dream of establishing my own business. But I also wanted to do things differently while keeping much of the team together.
- What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
I have had lots of very good advice throughout my career, but when I was deliberating whether or not to start my own business a friend of mine told me that it looked like I was looking for reasons to not do it and that I should either go for “full throttle” and have no regrets or just “stop talking about it”! I think that gave me the kick I needed, and I haven’t looked back.
