A Gants Hill independent estate agents will celebrate its 20th anniversary in the new year and its managing director can still remember the first house the company sold.

Paul Silver, 52, officially opened Silver Service Estate Agents on January 4, 1993, and two months later, completed a sale on a bungalow in Caterham Avenue, Clayhall, costing �60,000.

Having also featured in the Recorder within days of opening, he has now spoken to the paper about running the business in Woodford Avenue for two decades and the secret of its longevity.

He said: “It’s recommendation and repeat business.

“People come back again and again. We deal with parents and their children, brothers and uncles. We don’t just put homes in the window, we manage a sale.”

From that Clayhall bungalow, last year Silver Service worked on their most expensive sale of a �580,000 home in Clayhall Avenue, Clayhall.

The business specialises in sales across Redbridge and also parts of Essex.

Paul set it up after working with other agencies since the age of 16, when he started out with Bairstow Eves.

As he points out, buying or selling a home can be one of the most stressful things people do and he said his business aims to “take the stress away”.

Two constants in the Redbridge market in 20 years are the demand for homes near train and underground stations and within school catchment areas.

The difficulty for home-buyers in getting loans made last year one of their quietest, said Paul.

But he added: “We’re still here and we’re still selling properties. We’ve got our head above water because of the service we provide.”

Visit www.silverserviceproperty.co.uk.