Grey clouds may be gathering over the property market but it takes more than rainy days to dampen the spirits of employees at Leeds estate agency Manning Stainton, which, having expanded, this year moves up from the small to medium-sized enterprises list at the same time as rising 34 places in the rankings.

The company does not conform to the estate agency stereotype, starting with the fact it is staffed predominantly by women, who outnumber their male colleagues by 233 to 64. “Our girls don’t stand for the heavy spiv type of thing. They care about their jobs and the client, and they are in it for the long term,” says Russell Manning, the agency’s founder and managing director.

It is not unusual for customers to walk into offices staffed entirely by women and they are met by warm team atmospheres. Staff say they feel a strong sense of family in their team, giving this question a positive score of 78% — a result bettered by just 10 companies — and they have fun with and care for each other (both 84% positive scores).

Manning Stainton has a family company feel, even though technically it’s not one. But it does have the eponymous Manning as its figurehead and he is a highly popular character at the firm. With a positive score of 86%, only five company leaders received a more positive response to the question asking whether employees have faith in the person leading the organisation. Only six companies have more inspiring leaders, demonstrated by the 82% positive score given to Manning by his workforce.

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The rest of the senior management team also get the thumbs up. Staff think they truly live the values of the company (82%, the eighth highest) and are confident in their leadership skills (84% positive and eighth again). The directors maintain active involvement in everyday branch work and all offices receive a minimum of three visits a month.

Sarah Dowthwaite, manager of the Horsforth branch, has seen the agency go from strength to strength since she joined the firm. “When I started there were 25 of us,” she says. “And we’re still like a small company. Even though the job can be very stressful the people we work with are fantastic. And if I’m down about anything I’ll ring Russell or one of the other directors.”

In the current climate, Manning is having to offer his staff more support than they’ve needed for some time.

“Mortgage approvals are on the decrease. The industry is in decline. It’s not easy, you’ve got to get out there and support your people and almost put your arms around them,” says Manning.

“We’ve had 10 years of a very strong market, our staff have had a good run and now their wages are falling. It’s a real culture shock. This is my third downturn. So when one of my managers says she feels sick about it I can empathise.”

Manning Stainton handles about a quarter of the moves in Leeds and staff are proud to work for the firm, scoring this point 83% positive. “The way for us as a business to move forward is to do what we know very well and offer a good service,” says Manning. This is only possible with a committed and professional workforce, which should stand this particular estate agency in good stead.

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