Belvoir Lettings, one of the UK’s largest specialist lettings agencies, continues with its ambitious expansion plans and is delighted to welcome Mark Stephenson as the owner of Belvoir’s new office in York.
This exciting venture marks a career change for Mark who has always had a real passion for property, and has gone from professional landlord to professional lettings agent. His 20 years of experience as a landlord is a strong indicator of the future success of his new Belvoir business franchise, which recently opened its doors at 98 Micklegate, York.
“I’ve always had a real interest in property,” said Mark, who owned his first house at the age of 19 and began letting when he was in his early 20’s.
“Having been a professional landlord I believe that my experience of lettings agents in the North East, East Anglia and London will equip me to offer an even better service.”
Mark has an impressive grasp of the world of business, having spent most of his working life in top management posts with some of the world’s largest multi-national companies including Toshiba, Fujitsu, Daiwa Securities, and JP Morgan Chase as well as contracts in Frankfurt for Compaq and Commerzbank.
By the young age of 23 Mark was already financial controller for a £multi-million construction and nursing home group. He has led major programmes for RBC Capital Market, delivered a £7 million liquidity programme for HSBC and last year managed two of the largest programmes in post trade derivatives for Credit Suisse.
Mark’s 10-year plan is to build Belvoir York into one of the region’s biggest letting agencies, developing a portfolio of more than 1,000 properties in North Yorkshire and County Durham.
As if a life in property and corporate management wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Mark has also devoted time to studying and immersing himself in the world of fine art and together with his wife ran an art dealership in Cambridge for nine years, specialising in contemporary and modern works from Eastern Europe and Russia.
Despite his successful business career the self-confessed technology enthusiast never lost his interest in property, building renovation and architecture, especially period buildings.
Mark, who is originally from County Durham, now lives with his wife and two young sons in York. Speaking of his love of the historic city, he said: “I have always admired York for its architecture and historical value. I also own a number of Buy to Let properties in the North East, and the city is a natural base for my Belvoir business.
“This is a new challenge that gives me an opportunity to meet a variety of different people and get involved in more housing sector charity work.”
Welcoming Mark to the network, CEO Dorian Gonsalves said: “At Belvoir we are as passionate about delivering superlative levels of personal customer service and solid professional award-winning advice as Mark is about property and architecture.
“Mark’s technical background and project management skills will make him a great asset to the Belvoir network and we are looking forward to the contribution that Mark will make to the group.”
