1983 – Lea Hough was established by Bernard Lea and Neil Hough operating out of a 1st floor office on Friargate, Preston.
1985 – Chartered Surveyor Richard Prest joined the firm as a partner.
1986 – The Blackburn office was opened on Strawberry Bank, close to the heart of the town’s professional district.
1988 – Tony Lea, Bernard’s son, joined the firm.
1989 – Richard Bailey joined the firm as a Senior Surveyor and the 4th Chartered Surveyor.
1991 – Richard Bailey was promoted to partner.
1993 – Lea Hough appointed their first building surveyors at the Blackburn office, and added architectural design and project management work to its core services.
1995 – Lea Hough started working on one of their largest projects to date – we began managing the development of the former ROF Euxton site and transforming it into Buckshaw Village.
1996 – Both founding partners Bernard Lea and Neil Hough retired from the practice. Richard Bailey and Richard Prest took over as senior partners.
1997 – The Preston office was relocated to improved premises on Avenham Road, close to the city’s professional centre of Winckley Square.
1999 – Tony Lea was promoted to partner.
2001 – Lea Hough moved out of Blackburn town centre, and into a much larger new-build office at a more accessible site at Phoenix Business Park in Blackburn.
2004 – Received instructions from BAE Systems to act for them on their site at Bishopton near Glasgow. A 2,500 acre site which now has consent for a mixed use urban extension to the existing village. Appointment ongoing as agents for disposals and general property matters.
2005 – Paul Dignan joined the firm to manage the Building Surveying department. Paul later became a partner in 2011.
2005 – Lea Hough relocated from the Preston city centre office & occupied a large new-build office block on Matrix Office Park at Buckshaw Village.
2006 – Graham Margerison joins the firm, initially as a Graduate Building Surveyor.
2007 – Richard’s son, David Bailey, joined the firm to expand the Planning & Development department. David later became a partner in 2013.
2010 – Michael Harrison joined the firm to expand & develop the Building Surveying department with Paul. Michael was promoted to a partner in 2013.
2010 – Lea Hough’s expanded building surveying team begin to specialise in educational building consultant services & securing funding for school clients.
2013 – Lea Hough design & project manage a prestigious new-build church project, for the Spiritualists’ National Union.
2014 – Our Building Surveying team complete our largest single survey commission to date – a Schedule of Condition of an 86 acre manufacturing site with over 50 buildings, including huge aircraft hangars, for BAE Systems.
2014 – Lea Hough are instructed to advise the Homes and Communities Agency in respect of their landholdings at Pickering’s Farm, Penwortham, the largest strategic allocation in South Ribble with up to 1300 houses planned in the first phase.
2015 – Growth continues with record turnover achieved and the team is strengthened further with the addition of two more surveyors. Richard Bailey becomes a Consultant..
2016 – Huge success in obtaining major funding for building projects for Academy Schools under the government’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). Recruited Thomas Sutton and Gareth Clarke to expand to Valuation department and Building Surveying department.
2017 – Further achievements in the Academy Schools field as we secured £millions in funding for building works under the CIF initiative and we project managed the works to completion. Planning consent obtained for 235 houses in Ulverston for Rowland Homes. Growth continues with the recruitment of James Leech and Gary Newton.
2018 – Blackburn office relocates to Oakshaw House, a modern 3,000 sq ft office block. Matthew Parkinson joins as a Partner, after having run his own successful business in Lancaster (Matthew Parkinson Surveyors Limited).
2019 – The firm had an extremely tough year due to two tragic events. In January 2019, our long-serving former partner Tony Lea sadly passed away, aged 57, following illness; and David Bailey, a partner of the practice also tragically passed away following a fatal accident, aged just 34. Both Tony and David were outstanding work colleagues and fabulous family men, and both are very fondly remembered by all.
James Roberts and Sarah Dignan joined the firm.
2020 – Despite the Covid-19 virus outbreak and lockdown implications, Lea Hough’s success continued. A buoyant housing market resulted in more survey and valuation work than ever before for our Survey and Valuation team; our Planning & Land Development team concluded some excellent land sale deals for our landowner clients; and our Building Surveying team achieved our best ever results in terms of obtaining CIF Funding for our academy school clients, as well as securing excellent commercial building surveying work.
James Leech and Thomas Sutton achieve their MRICS qualification and achieve Chartered Surveyor status, and James Roberts achieves his AssocRICS qualification and RICS Registered Valuer status.
2021 – Dominic Brown passes his RICS Assessment of Professional Competence and becomes an MRICS Chartered Commercial Property Surveyor and RICS Registered Valuer.
Lea Hough’s Building Surveying team achieve significant funding for Schools under the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) for energy improvement measures; and again obtain millions of pounds of CIF Funding for our academy school clients under the Condition Improvement Fund.
Our Survey & Valuation team are as busy as ever, undertaking property surveys whilst the housing market is booming and whilst there is a major incentive available with the Stamp Duty holiday. The Valuation team also began undertaking Asset Valuations for a large, local authority involving a portfolio of almost 200 properties. This would later develop into a specialism of the Valuation department.
Our Land Development team obtain Planning Permission and conclude deals on several major housing development sites including Halewood; Ramsgreave; Kelbrook and Ellison Fold.
We recruit Paul Drake, Chartered Building Surveyor.
2022 – Mat Wright qualifies as an MRICS Chartered Building Surveyor, making him one of the youngest Chartered Surveyors in the country, after having followed our training plan.
Once again. previous records are surpassed as we achieved better CIF Funding results than previously, gaining much-needed CIF Funding for upgrade, repair and modernisation works at schools and academies in Lancashire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester areas,
Our satellite office in Swinton, Greater Manchester is opened to serve clients in the north-Manchester area.
On behalf of our landowner clients, we secured a Planning Appeal on land at Blainscough, Chorley, for a major new-build housing development site.
Our Survey & Valuation team continue to grow and be busy throughout the year, undertaking residential and commercial property surveys and valuations. Our team of Valuation Surveyors were retained to continue undertaking Asset Valuations for local authority clients.
Our Land Development team conclude another land-sale deal for a major housing development site at Whalley Old Road, Blackburn.
2023 – We strengthen our teams by the recruitment of Warren Hirst, Mattie Holden, and Dawn Timson.
Record funding results are again achieved on behalf of our school/academies clients, by our Education Team, and we managed a multi-million pound spend on various schools in the north-west.
Works commence on site for some multi-million pound projects, including a new manufacturing plant at Blackburn Chemicals, for which Lea Hough are Employer’s Agent; and major re-development project commences, at Spring Gardens, Colne, to form a new industrial estate.
Our five-strong team of Registered Valuers are yet again busy all year around, with survey and valuation instructions for all types of property. Lea Hough’s specialism in public sector Asset Valuations is further developed through two more local authorities within Lancashire instructing Lea Hough, substantially increasing the work undertaken in this area.
Our Land Development team conclude major land-sale deals on major housing development sites at Blainscough, Chorley and Holden Fold, Darwen.
We are appointed for various large-scale survey commissions, including Asset Valuations of large portfolios, RAAC Concrete inspections of many school, public sector buildings and commercial property; and we complete a major survey of thousands for gravestones for a public sector client.
2024 – Works commence on site for a multi-million pound project to build a six-storey extension to Rochdale Sixth Form College, which Lea Hough are project-managing.
We recruit Liz Pike, William Kay and James Hadcroft.
After training and support from colleagues at Lea Hough, Warren Hirst passes becomes AssocRICS and RICS Registered Valuer.
Flagship heritage/restoration projects on St James’ Street, Burnley are completed and handed over, which are part of the Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) and a key part of the ongoing regeneration of Burnley town centre.
Lea Hough are again retained by existing local authority clients to continue undertaking their Asset Valuations for financial statement purposes.