THE SECRET OF OUR SUCCESS

How one of the UK’s oldest professional property services firms, grew into our award winning relocation business today.

Founded by Mr Charles Saunders in 1865, the firm’s clients were mostly private individuals and small companies, requiring professional property management services throughout the UK – delivered with a highly personal, first-class service.

Fast forward to the 1980s, and Saunders 1865 has gone from strength to strength; growing to become specialists in in international Employee relocation services. Our business may have evolved over the last 100 years or so, but today our commitment to our clients is as strong as it's always been.

We're still as passionate as ever about providing a first-class service to the companies and organizations that we work with the world over – many of whom are North American corporations looking for comprehensive relocation support in Europe.

Don't take our word for it . . . See why the people that chose us, chose us!

Family that moved from Chicago to London

"My experience was more than satisfying. Saunders 1865 was responsive, professional, communicative, and as a result, there were no calls from our transferee asking about anything related to your service. WOW! Look forward to doing it again in the future!"

Beautiful beginnings...Or how it all began

Providing extensive international relocation services to corporations since the late 1980s, many of whom were urgently looking to make quick and cost-efficient moves from Europe to North America.

It was this need, that drove us to provide our international relocation services.

Don't take our word for it . . . See why the people that chose us, chose us!

"Right from the first call, we felt as though our needs were going to be met in a caring and efficient way. We've presented a few non-traditional needs (like needing adult education advice) and have been very solution- oriented. In addition to lots of follow-up and very good logistics and planning, we've found to be very good at thinking about our whole family - and treating us as a unit rather than just one employee being relocated. They were extremely helpful and knowledgeable, and willing to help us sort through big decisions without over- imposing (which is a tricky balance). All in all - ten out of ten so far!!!"

Our Philosophy

We bring our unbridled belief to our clients and the work we do for them.
The company's founder, Charles Saunders, based his philosophy on two core principles.

He believed that:

• Each and every client should be served only by dedicated, well-trained professionals
   
• Each and every client should be afforded the most highly personal service.
   

Today, we still make things as personal as possible:

• Our approach – it's a far cry from the call-center approach where clients seldom speak to the same person twice
   
• We talk – it sounds obvious, but we believe it makes a huge difference. That's why we speak to our clients about their needs, and issues, and make everything as easy as possible for them.
   
• We're flexible – We're a boutique firm, which makes it easier for us to adapt our programs to our clients’ requirements.
   
• We understand – that every client is different and we don’t expect our clients to have to bend to fit our programs and systems.
   
• We respond rapidly - to all service requests. We return phone calls and answer emails promptly.
   
• These seem small things, but in our experience they are things that customers care very much about – yet so many businesses are bad at them!
   
• We don’t lock our clients in to long-term contracts – we let them decide whether they want to go on using us based on how we’ve performed.
   
• We're a big happy family - we form close working relationships & long term friendships with our clients, who are like extended family to us. We become an extension of our corporate client’s HR team.
   
• We thrive on – working together with everyone, and making it as fun and as constructive as possible.
   
• We hate surprises – that's why we provide clear pricing information that is approved by every client before we start any new assignment.
   

Don't take our word for it . . . See why the people that chose us, chose us!

"Terrific service from Ann Dinsdale. They were incredibly responsive, thoughtful and informative throughout the process and really came through for us with a difficult landlord and agent. I was particularly impressed with how proactive Ann were. I will strongly recommend Saunders to my colleagues!"

WHY OUR PHILOSOPHY CONTINUES TO WORK TODAY . . . 

16 years ago, one of the most successful global banks decided to move their European relocation work to Saunders 1865 (and away from one of the very large relocation companies).

When their Head of global HR told us that the Bank had chosen Saunders 1865 he said......

"I want to feel that our business is important to our relocation service provider, so that you go the extra mile for us. Our current provider is so large that we are just a number to them. We are moving our business to Saunders 1865 because I know we will be important to you."

16 years later, the Bank’s new head of global HR went out of his way last year to tell us how pleased he was that....

"When my department has any relocation or property issue or problem, all my staff know to call Saunders 1865 – we look at Saunders 1865 as our relocation & property department! We know Saunders 1865 will handle it all for us, freeing up the time of our staff, so they can focus on functions that add-value to our business."

Obviously that unsolicited feedback 16 years after his predecessor’s poignant remarks, pleased us immensely and it underlines just how well

Charles Saunders’ core principles continue to work for our international relocation business and for our clients.

Don't take our word for it . . . See why the people that chose us, chose us!

"I would like to use my new found British terms like smashing, brilliant and extraordinary to describe Saunders 1865. Thanks for a job well done. I appreciate your support through this process, it was a big help and eased the transition considerably."

"Throughout the entire relocation process, I had the utmost confidence in the staff and personnel of Saunders which gave me the necessary comfort to re-focus my efforts on meeting the demands of my job. I would personally like to thank Liz and Ann for your high level of expertise and service."

And here's a few more . . .

"We thought your service was excellent. Ann Dinsdale and Kerry Jepson faced the challenge of rapidly adapting to some gaps in expectations on our part, enabling us to select a suitable new home within 2 days. They looked after the paperwork seamlessly, so that we were able to move in on the day after we arrived in the UK, with all services fully connected. We were very impressed with the team that worked for us."

"We had wonderful trip we had to the UK. Thank you so much for getting things organized for us. Of course Peter did a wonderful job helping us find a place to live. He went well above and beyond what we were expecting. Not only did Peter have plenty of properties lined up for us to look at, but he gave us tours of the various towns & villages, markets, attractions, restaurants and even pubs. We could not have asked for a better introduction to the area. Thanks for all your help."

"I recently utilized the services of Saunders 1865 in finding a London flat. I would like to take a moment convey to you how pleased I am with the services of Saunders 1865 and the professionalism and assistance of your employees. I'm certainly one of the more picky house-hunters and your team were diligent and thorough in scouring the marketplace for acceptable flats. Thanks for providing such a great service!"

"Thanks so much for all your assistance and we are now in the house and extremely pleased with everything. We were very impressed with the pre move in inspection that your people did on our behalf. Not a stone unturned!!!"

"I have nothing but positive feedback. We felt very much well taken care of during the whole process and the team as always very flexible to discuss our approach. In home searching, there was a real partnership between Ann and myself so we got along very well and finally found the perfect home for our family. The support during the tenancy agreement negotiation was unvaluable, being in a new country with different tenancy rules. We were delighted with Kirsty's emails and calls, for its completeness, assisting us to get to terms with all the utilities and other set up that had to be done. And the tour day with Shelagh was real fun, she turned our itinerary into a pleasant "expedition" and also helped us with the home inventory. This team is an asset to Saunders 1865! Thank you very much!"

"I don't think we would be in a house right now if it weren't for Kirsty and Ann. What an amazing service you provide and what a serious relief you have given to someone already under the stress of a move across the world with their family. Thanks again."

“I have to give your staff the highest complements for customer service and working with my limited time schedule. Cheryl who showed me listings was wonderful, full of information about the area and was very helpful in my decision on a good area to live in based on my age and personal needs. She went out of her way to show me where things were in Chelsea and explained a lot about life in London. Anna Davison has been an angel getting all of the logistics taken care of and has been very accommodating on getting everything I need or providing information I have requested. You have an excellent service team. Excellent job finding quality options within budget and location. Linda did a great job driving us around and knew the procedures for making offers. I would recommend using Saunders 1865 again“

"I enjoyed, even in the bad days, having you as my relocation agent. I would like to take this occasion to thank for your permanent availability and concern about finding my best possible relocation."

"Saunders 1865 was wonderful from day 1. I did check a few relocation companies before I selected Saunders 1865 but your attention to detail and welcoming attitude made the decision simple. Even though our budget was on the low end, Saunders 1865 provided top notch service from beginning to end. In general the experience has been great and I would easily recommend to any relocation prospect!"

"Your help through the entire 'finding an apartment / moving to a new city' process was beyond what I could have ever expected! Kirsty was an amazing co-ordinator / point person for everything that came up through every step of the process. Her warmth and friendly approach helped make the process as painless as possible."

"YOU'RE AMAZING - I will dearly miss you/Saunders 1865. You've proven over and over to be an incredible partner"

You could be next!

Saunders 1865 is the premier, full service relocation provider in the UK.

For information about our Schooling Assistance Program and our integrate School & Home Search, please enquire using this Contact Form.

Alternatively CALL +44207 590 2706 or EMAIL ravini.jinadasa@saunders1865.com and we’ll be happy to help.