About Stagg & Houghtons
A deliberately small firm: two partners, one method, and deals we would buy ourselves.
Built to be the firm we couldn't find
When we went looking for someone to source property deals properly, with evidence instead of hype, the downside before the upside and a fee that is earned rather than extracted, we could not find them. So we built the firm ourselves.
Stagg & Houghtons is deliberately small. You deal with a principal, always. Every opportunity we introduce has been through the same discipline: priced from sold evidence, checked for demand, costed honestly and stress-tested against the version of events where things go wrong.
We're a new firm and we won't pretend otherwise. What we'd point you to instead is the way we work: everything we claim on this site can be checked, and we'd rather you did.
Two names on the door
Sam Stagg: Research & Underwriting
- Runs the firm's research: finding the right streets and the right owners before anything is listed
- Owns the analysis behind every opportunity: comparables, yields, costs and the downside case
- "If a figure can't show its source, it doesn't ship."
Ben Houghton: Sourcing & Negotiation
- Runs the ground game: agent calls, auction rooms, landlord and developer conversations
- Negotiates from the evidence and stays on every deal from offer to keys
- "Sellers don't want the highest bidder. They want the buyer who completes."
How we operate
Evidence First
Every figure we present can show its source: sold prices, written quotes, real rents. Never asking prices, never folklore.
The Downside Comes First
We build the case for what goes wrong before the case for what goes right. A deal that only works on the sunny day isn't presented.
We Never Hold Client Money
Purchase funds move between solicitors, yours and the seller's. Our fee is earned at completion, not before.
How to verify any property sourcer, including us
Any legitimate UK property sourcer can be verified in public records in about fifteen minutes. Check these before you pay anyone, and check us against the same list.
- Redress scheme membership: search the Property Redress Scheme or The Property Ombudsman member directories. Ours: registration in progress.
- HMRC anti-money-laundering supervision: search the HMRC supervised business register. Ours: registration in progress.
- ICO registration: search the ICO register of fee payers. Ours: registration in progress.
- Professional indemnity insurance: ask for the certificate. Ours: at quote stage.
- Written terms of business before any fee: ask to see them. Ours: provided before we start searching.
No deal is introduced to any investor until every registration above is complete. When they are, this page will link to our entries on each register.