Our History

In 1988 a range of 6 independent agents comprising of Ward & Partners, Cubitt & West, Wyatt & Son, Sir Francis Pittis & Sons, George Proctor and Dixon Hind were purchased by Prudential Insurance company as part of their strategy to expand into estate agency. Following the downturn in the economy, however, they soon decided to sell and in 1991 Paul Rooney, who had been trading with his eleven Rooney & Co. offices in Sussex (originally 'Select a Home') since 1981, mounted a successful bid, staking everything he had, for the southeastern region of Prudential Property Services and formed Arun Estates.

In 1993 Paul acquired Douglas Allen Spiro in East London and Essex which strengthened the business further.

Paul Rooney photographed for Fast Track 100

Arun Estate Agencies Ltd has a board of Directors comprising of Paul Rooney (Chairman), David Lench (Managing Director), Brian Matthews (Personnel), Chris Coxon (Finance) and Mike Beer (Financial Services).

When Arun Estates was formed, one of the first jobs was to rebrand offices back to the long-established and trusted names, Paul realising it was loyalty and people that mattered.

The clear message to Paul's senior management team was "stay lean and profitable". Part of that senior management team was David Lench, looking after the Kent Ward & Partners brand. His philosophy has always been to put people first, believing that estate agency is a 'people' business where quality of service makes all the difference.

Arun now trade under the modernised brands of Ward & Partners, Cubitt & West, Douglas Allen, Pittis and Rooney & Co. and are the responsibility of our Group Managing Director, David Lench. This has given us greater strength and we are able to adapt more quickly to changes in the market. David's passion has been to build Arun into a sustainable business harnessing other services for the customer's benefit and provide the most comprehensive service possible on their behalf.