Spicerhaart
Spicerhaart Group Ltd is an English estate agency and financial services company based in Colchester, Essex, and operating throughout the United Kingdom. It is the largest independent estate agency network in the UK. History. The company has its origins in 1989, where father and son Alick and Paul Smith opened three branches of Spicer McColl in East Anglia. They took over 45 Darlows branches in 2000 when that company went into receivership, and acquired the South Yorkshire company Haybrook in 2007. Spicerhaart purchased iSold estate agents (formerly Tesco Property Market) from Tesco plc in 2008, after it was ruled  that Tesco could not act as an estate agent without being registered as such. Spicerhaart and Tesco are now involved in a legal dispute. Spicerhaart came under criticism during the COVID-19 outbreak by terminating hundreds of staff the day prior to the furlough scheme. When the option of reemploying these staff and placing them on furlough, which would have cost them nothing, became an option they refused. The method of their termination, a callous two minute phone call, has also been seen as particularly ruthless and not in compliance with employment law. They continue to re-edit their page, to  remove this part of their shameful history, but it will continue to be added as it is factually correct. Management. Paul Smith is CEO and John Spence OBE is the Non-Executive Chairman. The company's headquarters and contact centre are in Colchester, Essex. Estate agency brands. Spicerhaart currently trade under the following brands: