Howkins & Harrison

Howkins & Harrison: estate agents, chartered surveyors and auctioneers in the Midlands and London

Howkins & Harrison is a British property, land and estate services firm operating since 1888. It serves private homeowners, landowners and landlords in buying and selling, letting and property management, with specialist teams in the residential, commercial and rural sectors. The company presents itself as an agency with proven valuation expertise and over 130 years of local knowledge.

Property services for residential, commercial and rural clients

The business is organised into several areas. In the residential segment, the firm markets properties for sale and to let, and offers guides for sellers and landlords, as well as block and estate management. In the commercial sphere, it lists commercial properties and provides specialist advice. The rural area covers land, farms and agricultural properties, with planning and development, logistics, government grants and subsidies, and biodiversity net gain services. It also has a dedicated line for equestrian properties and rural business succession planning.

Auctions of property, farm machinery and crops

The company maintains the tradition of auctioning farm machinery and crops, property and land, and has added a virtual auction platform. The website allows users to browse online auctions, the upcoming auctions calendar and the past auctions archive. The firm notes that although it has stepped away from directly auctioning livestock, it continues this activity with other assets.

Nine offices and geographical coverage

Howkins & Harrison has a network of nine offices. Seven of them are high street offices, located in Rugby, Northampton, Lutterworth, Daventry, Atherstone, Ashby de la Zouch and Towcester. In addition, there is an office in Henley in Arden and another in London, which allows the firm to work with commuters and investors with interests in property and land in the Midlands and beyond.

History since 1888

The company's origins date back to 1888, when Jinks Howkins, of Lilbourne, auctioned his first cattle, sheep, calves and pigs at Rugby Cattle Market on Monday 3 September of that year. He later joined forces with Arthur Mason to auction livestock under the name Howkins & Sons. The Harrison side of the business began in 1861, when Nixon Toone started out as a livestock auctioneer; six years later Joshua Harrison joined and the firm was renamed Nixon Toone & Harrison. In 1926, James Harrison, Joshua's son, joined. For many years, Howkins & Sons and Nixon Toone & Harrison were competitors. On 1 June 1970, after breaking away from Nixon Toone, James Harrison & Sons merged with Howkins & Sons to form Howkins & Harrison LLP. A former partner, Anthony Harrison, great-grandson of Joshua Harrison and fourth generation of the Harrisons in the firm, retired in 2006.

Team and valuation services

The company has a team of estate agents, lettings agents, surveyors, planners, valuers and auctioneers. It offers a free valuation service aimed at finding out the true value of a property, with local knowledge and experience. The website includes sections on the team, client testimonials and a blog with content on the rural sector, auctions and lettings.