A well-respected auctioneer, whose regular appearances on Homes under the Hammer for more than 20 years made him a household name, has died.
Clive Emson passed away on Wednesday peacefully, with his family by his side, at the age of 79.
Clive Emson, a highly respected auctioneer, has died
The entrepreneurial businessman, whose mantra was “have gavel, will travel”, was at the helm of Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers, an empire spanning from Kent to Cornwall, taking in the Isle of Wight on the way.
His behind-the-scenes work with various charities earned him an MBE for services to vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in Kent.
Clive started his far-reaching career in the property business, earning just £1.50 a week as a junior estate agent.
The former King’s School, Rochester, pupil left at the age of 16 with a couple of O-levels. He disliked the discipline of the public school, hated sport and couldn’t wait to leave.
And the feeling was mutual. During an interview with KentOnline in 2022, he said: “It was not the best time of my life, and I was a nightmare for them.”
His childhood home was in Maidstone – about a mile away from the current head office in London Road – and he went to Maidstone Technical College when he took on more “useful” subjects such as commerce, book-keeping and economics.
Careers in law, accountancy and banking beckoned, but Clive did not want to be stuck in an office, so he opted for estate agency.
He said: “It was more laid back, and I enjoyed talking and meeting people.”
He started at Geering and Colyer in Maidstone in 1968 and moved to various offices across the county, including a Tonbridge branch, where he met his wife Sue, who was the daughter of the boss at the time.
The couple have two children, James, 52, who is now managing director and Rebecca, 55, whose husband Steve is involved in the IT side of the company. Sadly, Sue, whom he was married to for 50 years, died six years ago.
He launched his first estate agency, Clive Emson and Co, in Hythe in 1973 until 1983 when he merged the business with the rapidly expanding Ward and Partners.
They were, in turn, taken over nationally by Prudential in 1986, but Clive said he became disillusioned and resigned as regional director three years later.
He took the plunge and opened up his own firm in Folkestone during the height of the recession and shortly afterwards took over a small industrial unit on Medway City Estate in Strood, where he quickly learned tough lessons on how to keep afloat.
Clive Emson at his headquarters in Maidstone
Gradually, his portfolio started to creep across southern England with James launching in Hastings and then Brighton.
They outgrew their auction venue at the Great Danes Hotel in Maidstone, now the Mercure Maidstone, when the fire service said they had to find somewhere bigger for safety reasons.
They relocated to the Kent County Showground at Detling, where the massive Clive Emson Conference Centre is one of several halls where their six-weekly land and property sales are staged, although following the pandemic, they are still online.
It was the first property auctioneering house that was not backed by an estate agency.
He said: “I had to move on, find my own niche. I love selling, and auctioneering is what I’ve done all my life.”
Although Clive’s career has been an outstanding success, he fell foul of one notable bad decision to open a branch in New York.
On ill advice, he sent a team of 10 people over to Manhattan, but did not get the feedback from his advisor, a colleague of Donald Trump’s.
After losing £250,000 in a matter of weeks, critics said he was left with “egg on his face”.
But in true Emson style, he replied: “Well it’s my egg and it’s on my face.”
In full swing – Clive Emson at work
His regular appearances on Homes under the Hammer made him a familiar face with millions of daytime viewers.
He said: “There was a time when we were approached by TV companies every week.
“They wanted to put in a fake buyer, but how’s that going to work? Once the hammer drops, the property is yours.”
He said the programme had served to make the auction house a more respected place to buy property and land, saying “there was a perception that they were frequented by dealers and crooked people”.
His team view every single one of the potential thousands of lots before they make it into the catalogue.
“If we think the price wanted is wrong, we will say so. We sell 80% of what goes into the catalogue. We are the fifth biggest in the country.”
As well as the Maidstone HQ, there are offices in Exeter, Devon, Chelmsford, Essex, and Fareham, Hampshire.
Some years ago, he took a back seat to running the company, preferring to spend time at his home in Monks Horton, near Sellindge where he loved to tinker with his vintage cars.
He invested his money in a fleet of several classic British vehicles – including a vintage Bentley.
At one point, for “a bit of fun”, he launched Carmen Rollers, providing a chauffeur-driven service for weddings.
‘Have gavel, will travel’ – auctioneer Clive Emson’s mantra
He was happy when James stepped into the role of running the company.
He said: “When he joined when he was 17, I said ‘do this for you, not me’. Over all this time, we have never argued over business.”
Apart from playing golf, he also loved to get involved in charity work and was president of the Young Lives Foundation, which supports vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in Kent.
He was an Independent Visitor for the Maidstone-based charity, which delivers tailored services to children and young people for effective outcomes from 2002.
The role of an independent visitor is to have one-on-one sessions with one child for three years.
Mr Emson said the key to success is simple: “I talk to them rather than at them. It’s mainly children in care.”
When he was made an MBE in 2019, he said he was surprised at the accolade and had no idea who had nominated him.
He said: “It was a complete and utter surprise. I’ve kept the charity work under the radar.”
Clive Emson celebrates the opening of Hampshire office with auctioneer Rob MarchantCredit: Tracy Kidd
His charity work began around 30 years ago, when he saw that the YMCA in Maidstone was asking for £100 to buy new pencils and pens for the homework club, which was also appealing for volunteers at the time.
He was the founding chairman of the Board from 2007 to 2014 and President from 2014 to date.
His vast experience, support and guidance made a positive impact on the lives of young people in Kent, and his vision was that all shall have access to opportunities to achieve their potential.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised.
