National chain Fine and Country, which specialises in selling homes valued between £500,000 and £3m, has opened its latest branch in Winckley Square, Preston, with £70m of property already on its books.

Directors Ian Lloyd and John Ardern picked the office due to its central location between their existing estate agent businesses in the Ribble Valley and Lytham St Annes.

Mr Lloyd said it would now be able to secure a foothold in the "top end" of the property market covering its current areas and strengthening its presence throughout Preston, South Ribble, Wyre and North Lancashire.

He said: "What we are selling are not your average homes. Our ethos is that every Fine and Country house has something special about it, that could be a thatched cottage or a £1m manor house.

"The market has changed in recent months and it would be untrue to say that we have not been affected by that, but the upper quartile still remains relatively busy.

"The people that we deal with through Fine and Country are not just moving from one side of Preston to the other and it is surprising how far people are willing to move and commute, so these people are willing to make a significant investment here."

The estate agents' arrival in Preston this week comes as figures revealed that house prices in Lancashire fell for the fifth consecutive month during March.

The House Price Index from the country's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax, showed average prices fell 0.5% to £153,278 from February's values.

However, Mr Lloyd, who is also director of Mortimers Estate Agents which has six branches across East Lancashire, said he believed the decline was not permanent.

He said: "Spring always brings with it a resurgence in interest in the property market, so we are confident the market will bounce back."
Mr Ardern runs John Ardern and Company estate agents in Lytham.

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