How did Watsons’ journey lead to the full-service property company it is today? 

Our property story began back in 1890, when Edwin Watson and Mr. Sadd partnered to found Sadd and Watsons Estate Agents, building a reputation for excellence, innovation, and integrity in East Anglia – soon reaching 28 local branches by 1986. Since then, our rapid business growth has allowed us to expand our services, including Block & Estate Management, Lettings, and Valuation & Survey offerings. With property specialists based across the country, allowing us to serve the nation with local expertise, Watsons has consistently upheld its core values, ensuring unparalleled service and expertise to our valued clients, for 135 years.

What does a Watsons Chartered Surveyor do? 

At Watsons, our Chartered Surveyors and Registered Valuers are trained and experienced in a much broader range of services than is often realised.  From land valuations and development appraisals to defect reports, leasehold extensions and beyond, we are uniquely positioned to advise on a wide range of property-related matters.  This diversity in expertise means we can support clients with complex, specialist needs, which many other surveying organisations may not be equipped to handle. 

This kind of product diversification is something we are proud of – it means our clients can come to us with varied and often challenging requirements and receive a consistent, high-quality service backed by years of industry knowledge and RICS-regulated standards.  It also means our surveyors must stay up to date across a wide field, regularly accessing and sharing industry-accredited sources to offer the latest advice.   

Achieving and maintaining this level of professional development isn’t a small feat, but it is what allows our local surveyors to offer such a broad skillset – allowing us to deliver real value to our clients. 

How we’re raising awareness across the property industry 

Sometimes the biggest hurdle we face isn’t on the delivery of these services, but rather the awareness of them – as the term ‘surveyor’ can often be broad and confusing to the public.  

Many clients, both residential and commercial, simply aren’t aware of what their local surveyor can assist with, and this lack of awareness can lead them to larger, and often more expensive, firms or legal consultants who don’t often provide the practical, property-focused insight that a General Practice surveyor can.   

This is where the challenge of product diversification truly lies – not just doing more but communicating this and helping clients understand how these services can solve their problems. 

Conclusion: 

We are actively working to change the perception of what Charted Surveyors can do, through clear communication, education and continued professional development.  We want to ensure that our clients not only receive a fantastic service but know exactly what kind of support is available to them.  Whether it is a homeowner navigating lease extensions, a developer assessing land viability or a landlord facing structural defects, our team is ready to help, often in ways you might not expect from “just a surveyor”!