
90th Anniversary Timeline
2025 marks a significant milestone for Christie & Co, as we celebrate 90 years of unparalleled expertise in advising, valuing, and selling businesses across our specialist sectors.
Since 1935, we have been at the forefront of the market, providing expert advice and delivering exceptional results for our clients. We opened our first office on Baker Street in London, and have since expanded our services internationally, becoming market leader in our respective sectors.
Our 90th anniversary is a celebration of the people who have shaped our business and those who continue to drive it forward. Christie & Co’s success is built on a tradition of excellence, innovation, and a relentless focus on delivering for our clients. We look forward to seeing this continue into the years ahead.
Scroll through to see some of our highlights from the past 90 years and a few anniversary messages from longstanding clients.

Darren Bond
Global Managing Director
1935
Company founded
On May 8th 1935, James Owen, Nick Davies and George Christie pooled their resources to establish a business agency then called Christie, Owen & Davies in Baker Street.
1935
First major deal
Christie, Owen & Davies sold Charles Forte his first "milk bar", the Strand Milk Bar in Regent Street, London.
1942
Earliest record of an advertisement published
One of our earliest advertisements that was posted in The Surrey Advertiser.
1952
First regional expansion
We started to expand with our first regional office in Exeter, before opening further offices in Bournemouth, Hove, Ipswich, Cheltenham and Canterbury.
1952
Sold Egon Ronay his first restaurant
Facilitated the sale of the Marquee in Knightsbridge to the Hungarian restaurateur and journalist.
1972
Sold Waterside Inn to Roux Brothers
Sold the Berkshire-based French cuisine restaurant to the Roux Brothers, Michael and Albert.
1977
Christie & Co appears in Scotland
Opening a new office in Edinburgh marks the first Scottish office.
1977
Christie Finance and Christie Insurance launched
A finance and insurance arm launched: Reliance Consumer Credit, which would later become Christie Finance and Christie Insurance.
1980
Christie Group launched
A new holding company is created to unite Christie & Co and its sister businesses, this entity would later become Christie Group plc.
1984
Venners joins the family
Christie Group broadens its portfolio by acquiring a leading stock auditing and inventory services company.
1985
Upgrades and expansions
Offices open across Birmingham, Bristol & Manchester, while our first computer systems are installed.
1986
Pinders joins too
Appraisal and valuation consultancy business Pinders is acquired by Christie Group.
1988
Christie Group listed on the stock market
Christie Group plc floats on the London Stock Exchange, marking its debut as a publicly listed company.
1998
Paris office opens
Our first international office opens in continental Europe.
1999
Frankfurt office opens
Building on our European expansion, we launched our first German office.
2000
Barcelona office opens
We entered the Spanish market, extending our brokerage and advisory services to Southern Europe.
2004
Sold Dolphin Nursery Group
Facilitated the sale of four nurseries from Southern Cross for £12.6 million.
2005
Listed on AIM
Christie Group transfers its listing to the Alternative Investment Market, a move aimed at fostering growth under a more flexible framework.
2005
Cannon Capital Group Holdings
Sold entire share capital of Cannon Capital Group Holdings, a company which held the freehold interest in 91 care homes, for around £365.5 million.
2006
Sold Hilton Metropole
Demonstrating our capability in high-value transactions, the Hotels team brokered the £417 million sale of the London and Birmingham-based hotels in Tonstate Group.
2008
Pharmacy sector launched
Our first Medical sector was established with the launch of our Pharmacy brokerage sector.
2009
Project Pentagon
468 pubs were sold over a three year period giving us our then largest single fee.
2010
Vienna office opens
A presence is established in Central Europe with a new office in Austria.
2013
Dental sector launched
Growing on the demand following many dental practice valuations, we officially launched our Dental brokerage team, which quickly become, and remains, market leader.
2015
80th anniversary celebrated
We celebrate our 80th anniversary with the motto "80 years of business insight".
2015
Project TCG
Completed the sale of 53 pubs, with a value of around £105m, to Stonegate Pub Company on behalf of Tattershall Castle Group.
2019
Project Space
We sold Houstons Dental Group, at the time one of the UK’s largest and most respected independent groups.
2019
Project Douglas
In a landmark deal we sold 146 properties on behalf of Wyevale Garden Centres.
2020
Darren Bond becomes Global MD
Darren joined Christie & Co in 2001 and was appointed Global Managing Director in 2020.
2021
Skegness Pier sale
Sold for £3 million, eventual buyer and the MD of the Mellors Group, James Mellors Snr noted, "When Christie & Co were appointed, we were in touch straight away."
2023
Project King
Believed to be the largest recent independent dental deal in the UK, we facilitated a landmark partnership between North East-based dental business, Queensway Group and Dentex.
2023
Project Thorpe
Full portfolio of 34 Whitworth Chemist pharmacies brought to the market, all of which were put under offer by 2024 after a sales process involving over eight prospective buyers.
2023
Care in Germany
We expanded into new territory with the Care sector in Germany.
2024
Project Watership
The sale of a long-established, highly respected family-owned portfolio comprising four prestigious nursery schools, the renowned Pippa Pop-ins, to Dukes Education.
2024
Care in France
After the successful launch of our Care team in Germany, we expanded into France.
2024
Project Echo
Acting on behalf of Boots UK we have offered for sale multiple pharmacies, including 75 sales in 2024 alone.
2025
90th anniversary
2025 marks a significant milestone for Christie & Co, as we celebrate 90 years of unparalleled expertise in advising, valuing, and selling businesses across our specialist sectors.