Ah, the boss. The gaffer. The grafter, the mum, the meany, the friend, the confidant. The one O.J. and its clients couldn’t imagine life without. A quirky one, for sure. In fact, any image you have in your mind of a bog-standard business owner—throw it out like a used teabag. Never one to sweat over profit margins or drool over ROI, you’ve got more chance of Elvis flying past your bedroom window on a purple pig than you have of Nic boring you to tears with those buttoned-up LinkedIn posts. Does anyone even read that rubbish anyway?
How did she get here?
Nic’s story kicked off around the corner in Bermondsey: she’s as local as pie from the chippy, and proud of it. Aylwin Girls’ school was where she first got up to mischief (class of ‘89 if you must know). There might have been some lessons too? She can’t remember. Anyways, school bored her to tears so at 16, she swapped algebra for the valuation office in Blackfriars, where she decided “thanks, but no thanks”, before hopping off to Barclays bank, where selling unaffordable loans to poor people made her skin crawl. Is this really the world of work!? Talk about a damsel in distress.
Fate reared its beautiful head soon after though, when a chance Ad in the South London Press brought her to Oliver Jaques. From the moment Nic walked through that door, that was it. “I’ve arrived, this is home now”. The mad scramble of deals, the deadlines, the drama. Forget boring spreadsheets and dull office banter—this was fast-talking, big-dreaming clients, and down-to-the-wire rushes to get the deal over the line. The mayhem was infectious, and Nic dove in headfirst, Tom Daley style.
She had plans for change, though. In this brutal, cut-throat and shark-infested industry, she wanted to say ‘see ya’ to the intense, old school way of doing things. Because it wasn’t about selling, leasing and letting at all costs.. It was about getting Mr. Davies that ground-floor flat that saves his dodgy knee or finding Lisa a view so good, her coffee tasted twice as nice. It’s personal. It’s messy. And this business is one hell of a way to make sure the amazing people in the area Nicola has known and loved her whole life, wouldn’t have to worry about their property situation ever again.
It’s my baby.
Fast forward a decade or so, the opportunity to take over at O.J came up. Err, yes please. She loved it as it was, but now it was her baby. Now, she could put her two dogs - named Oli and Jaques, naturally - in the shop window. You'll meet them soon enough by the way - tails wagging, grins shining, eyes sparkling - as they reel you in from the office window. Being the owner (ooooh, sounds nice) meant she could swap bureaucracy for better results. Explanations on legislative change? Tips for selling faster? A listening ear when it all gets too much? Whatever the problem, owning O.J has given Nic the chance to help people get what they want. Clients with homes and investments, staff with growth and opportunity, Oli and Jaques with a thousand people to greet every single day. It’s a vehicle to help people, and that commitment hasn’t wavered since she took the helm.
And let’s be honest for a second - O.J is too small to get it wrong. Every client matters, every deal is important to us, like it is to you. So that personal, tailored approach that we talk about? It’s not just cute words that look nice on paper. It’s a way of operating, a way of conducting ourselves. And it’s why Nicola designed O.J to go way above and beyond what you’d expect from us. We’re a family run business that puts you first, and property second. You’ll see it soon enough. Well, Nic bloomin’ hopes so anyways - she’s worked oh-so hard to ditch the stigma attached to the estate agency world. And please don’t get her started on those big chains with the personality of an unbuttered piece of toast? Please.
Most estate agents are silly sausages
There’s just one thing to get across for Nic, really. Please.stop.dreading.property. It’s her business to take care of yours, and she wants you to relax. You know, take a break - have a KitKat. Basically, she wanted to get rid of those cliches about estate agents only being in it for themselves, or doing/saying whatever it takes to get your signature. That way of doing things = makes her blood boil. Because at O.J, the whole business - the office we call home, the staff we spend months headhunting, the ethos we curate, the training that drains our wallets - it’s all built around you. And nuffin’ else.
This whole line of thinking stems from Nic’ belief that SE16 is one of the nicest parts of the country, and moving, selling or leasing here shouldn’t feel like climbing Mount Everest. So, she’s made it so that when your phone rings, it'll be good news: welcome gifts, a full-breakdown of local must-do’s, community project invites, area updates, and even free carpet cleaning on a saturday morning. Yep - that happened. 3 hours before a new tenant moved in, a ‘natural disaster’ meant the landlord needed help. Sharpish. So Nic drove 45 minutes on her only day off, got down on her hands and knees and scrubbed like nobody’s business. Marigolds ‘n all. What we’re saying is, if you have a leak, don’t call ghostbusters - call Nic.
If she ever leaves the office..
Crikey. That was a long one. Well, to be honest, Nic wanted it longer. She also wanted 3 pictures of her above the text, and a two-page spread in the Metro, with her face front and centre. Shocking. So outside of work, what does she get up to? Some very subpar karaoke in the kitchen (that unfortunately makes its way into the office at times). And Oli and Jaques and their brothers and sisters practically consume her, so she’s usually juggling what feels like 19 dog leads, 35 treats, and an uphill battle to keep them away from the birds.
By the way, if she stops you for a chat, call home and get someone to take the cottage pie out the oven - she’ll go for hours, this one. Other than that, food is her third love, so don’t go leaving half-eaten pizza on the side when she’s about - she’ll neck it, then blame the dogs. Honestly though, the company thrives because of Nic - and she can’t wait for you to be next in the long line of people who are dumbfounded at just how different O.J really is. Call her, text her, whatsapp her, slide into her dm’s.. She’s waiting to see how she can shoulder the burden. Welcome - a thousand times over!