An historic Cambridgeshire auctioneer and land agent said it was “delighted” with its new look as it launched a major rebrand.

Cheffins, which has offices in Ely and Cambridge, and has six offices across the region and in London, including at Newmarket, Haverhill and Saffron Walden, decided it was time for a refresh, explained chairman Bill King.

The firm, which was launched in 1825, has enjoyed strong growth and wanted to re-evaluate its direction and objectives for the future.

“Change doesn’t always come easy to a firm that old,” said Mr King. “We are a very diverse business so producing a logo and a rebrand does have its challenges – but we are delighted with what we have got.”

The firm’s range of services includes a highly successful monthly farm machinery auction, operating across international markets and said to be the largest in Europe, which is presided over by Mr King.

The new brand identity reflects Cheffins’ commitment to providing the best services in the markets in which it operates, it said, and will help it to intensify its focus on the estate agency, rural consultancy, commercial property sectors, while retaining its status as a market-leading auctioneer of fine art and agricultural machinery.

The firm has adopted new corporate colours and launched a new website to increase its online presence and help to communicate with clients.

“Cheffins has built a strong reputation following almost 200 years in business in the local area, however our market research confirmed that evolving our corporate identity and updating our logo was the appropriate strategic move for us,” said Mr King.

“This is an exciting time for our business and we feel confident that our new logo, website and colours will ensure our brand is easily recognisable.”

The two-year-long rebrand project was a sign of the business’s confidence, inspite of today’s volatile markets, and was aimed at standing out against the competition, while reflecting the firm’s heritage, he said.

“All sides of our business are faced with the same challenges as we head towards March 29,” he pointed out.

Last year, the firm dealt with the largest number of million-pound plus homes in the country, he added.

Cheffins factfile

Cheffins is Cambridgeshire’s leading firm of residential, commercial and rural land and property advisers and auctioneers.

Established in 1825, the firm has 6 offices in Cambridge: Ely; Haverhill; Newmarket, Saffron Walden and Sutton.

Cheffins’ professional services include residential sales; residential lettings; fine art auctions; commercial property; agriculture and rural business services; vintage and classic auctions; planning and development; property auctions and tractor and plant machinery.

Cheffins in 2018 by department

Residential property

In 2018, Cheffins sold 1000 properties across the five offices in Cambridge, Ely, Haverhill, Newmarket and Saffron Walden. The lettings team also went from strength to strength and now has 2500 properties under management across the region.

Commercial property

Cheffins agency team is retained on some of the most high-profile schemes in the area and has the ability to provide in excess of 1.5 million sq ft of new build space. Cheffins also has over 150 commercial properties under management.

Rural Professionals

Cheffins is a leading provider of rural property services including farm agency, strategic development advice and estate management. The team is currently advising on strategic sites with the potential to deliver over 10,000 homes across the Eastern region and provided subsidy advice to landowners on 30,000 acres in 2018.

Fine Art

Cheffins is home to one of the leading regional fine art and antiques auction houses, selling jewellery, silver, watches, furniture, paintings, ceramics and Asian Art. In 2018, the department sold over £9.8 million-worth of items

Machinery

Cheffins is Europe’s leading auctioneer for second-hand agricultural machinery and plant. In 2018 the machinery department sold over £50m-worth of machinery across 41 auctions.

The team offers both collective auctions at the purpose-built sale ground near Ely and also on-farm sales for local farmers and landowners.

Cheffins also hosts the world’s largest vintage collective auctions which comprise of vintage agricultural machinery, classic cars and motorcycles, automobilia, spares and bygones.