Nicholas Maestri discusses the importance of bespoke business partnerships in 14fiftyseven
We talk to Nicholas Maestri, head of property at luxury asset law firm Bargate Murray, about why business partnerships are what makes the company tick.
If you want to buy a yacht or a private jet, it’s likely that someone will point you in the direction of Bargate Murray. The firm is long established in providing legal services to UHNW individuals for luxury assets.
However, if you’re buying a house – a Mayfair mansion, perhaps, or a Notting Hill flat or a Cotswold country pad – you may not have thought of the firm. Partner Nicholas Maestri joined the company about six months ago to head up its new property division. As you may have guessed, what Nicholas and the team offer, is no ordinary property law service.
Bargate Murray does all the legal work associated with buying your new house, as you’d expect. But they also associate with a whole raft of bespoke business partners to make sure everything to do with your move goes to plan.
We’re talking access to security specialists for your home and family, telecoms experts, staffing agencies (this is where 14fiftyseven comes in as a trusted partner of Nicholas and his team), IT systems consultants, interior designers, property management, property concierge services and more. Nicholas says, ‘My core service is law, of course, but I go above and beyond to connect clients to recommended partners for whatever service they require. Basically, my little black book is open to my clients.’
Nicholas has worked with UHNW client portfolios in the central London property market for many years, helping people from all over the world buy UK property of all types. Some clients will be relocating to the UK, some buying as investments, and others finding a second or third home in London or elsewhere in the UK. Moving to work with Bargate Murray was a natural step for Nicholas, as clients buying luxury assets are often seeking exceptional UK property, too.
‘We’re a luxury asset and property law firm,’ he continues. ‘In itself, that isn’t particularly unique, but what is different about us is that we’re boutique; we offer a personal service. If a client calls for legal assistance with their house purchase, they get me and my 22 years’ experience – not a junior person, or an unnamed someone else; it’s me and my contacts. For me, this business is all about relationships and personal service.’
Relationships, as we all know, are built over time, and business partnerships are no different. It’s likely that the client coming to Bargate Murray will have got in touch because the firm was recommended by someone they know. If Nicholas recommends us here at 14fiftyseven to a client because they need a housekeeper or estate manager, the client knows that we’re a tried and tested partner. Similarly, Nicholas can recommend an architect or specialist in private schooling in the UK for a client moving here with their family from abroad. This is a trusted network of people and business partnerships.
And this trusted network isn’t something that Nicholas and Bargate Murray are charging extra for, either. Nicholas explains, ‘These types of relationships with clients are worth investing in. I know that if I’m someone they can trust to help them out and source experts for, then they’re likely to come back to me next time they need to buy a UK property – or to one of my colleagues if they’re going to invest in a yacht or another luxury asset. And hopefully they’ll also recommend me to others.’
Here at 14fiftyseven, we couldn’t agree more with the philosophy of nurturing partnerships in order to offer the best service; both business partnerships and client partnerships. Our business of recruiting the best household and PA staff is all about partnerships, too. In recruitment, finding the best people is rarely simply about advertising a role. It’s about using our networks to headhunt and source people who will provide excellence. So, we’re always happy to talk about Nicholas and his colleagues to our clients.
We believe it’s people that make the world go round, and that knowing the right ones will help smooth your path a little. Even Charles Darwin agreed, saying, ‘It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.’
Read the full interview in 14fiftyseven here.