Less than 18 months after starting the business, Broughty Ferry estate agent Verdala is getting ready to move into a new office with a rich past.
As each layer of wallpaper and fittings in 250 Brook Street has been stripped away, glimpses of the past have been brought forward.
Dundee City archives go back to 1910, when the unit was a saddlers run by Robert Powrie.
The saddler’s business ran until 1923, when it became Thomas J. Gow’s ironmongers.
From 1926 to 1933, the site was a printers run by James Simpson, and also the headquarters of the Broughty Ferry Guide & Carnoustie Gazette newspaper.
It became a butchers shop in 1933. William Donaldson ran it until the late 1930s, when it was taken over by Alex Munro.
It remained a butchers until the directory ended in 1970.
Now, after many years as a TUI office, the unit will soon be home to Verdala.
Founder Scott Bremner and his partner and marketing director Amber Cochrane did not expect to find office space on the high street so fast.
“It was very unexpected to secure a unit in the centre of the Ferry,” says Amber.
“We live just around the corner, so for us it’s the dream to have a local office so quickly.”
Keeping work local
The office has been stripped back and the suspended ceiling has been raised by a metre and a half.
Getting local contractors in to carry out the works was important to the Broughty Ferry agent.
Amber says: “We went for a local building contractor, Bannan Building, who has basically rebuilt the whole inside of the office space.
“We’ve got another local guy at Swansons Plastering who lives around the corner doing the plastering and the painting.”
Instead of window cards, the estate agent plans to set up TV screens showing their properties.
Verdala quickly gained a following on social media due to the videos that market its properties.
There will be a front office space and a meeting space through the back of the new site.
Busy year ahead for Verdala
While getting ready to move into the Brook Street office in late March or April, the estate agent is also looking to expand the team.
Currently there are four employees working from Brook House in a space originally planned for just Scott.
With a busy year ahead, Amber looks forward to moving into a larger office space with a meeting room.
“This time last year we had only sold two houses,” she recalls.
“If you had told me to move on another year and you’ll have sold 140, I would have fallen off my seat.
“This January has been our second busiest month ever, which is completely unexpected.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but the response and support we’ve had from clients has just been completely overwhelming.”
Properties sold by Verdala include Hayhillock Farmhouse outside Carnoustie and Maison Dieu Church in Brechin.
