Our Story
A friendship. A shared ambition.
The story of Yates Hellier begins not in property, but in friendship. When Ross Yates and Jack Hellier founded Yates Hellier Estate Agency in 2013, they were in their early twenties. The pair had been friends for years, growing up in Bearsden and Killearn, and bonding first over a mutual love of cars and motorbikes, before conversations gradually turned towards something bigger: building something of their own.
Lettings and estate agency was never the obvious choice. They had no experience in the industry, no property portfolio or ready-made client list, no funding and for the first time, no roadmap to follow. What they did have, however, was a shared belief that their approach to estate agency could be a beneficial one. Jack tells me that the company started after “a spur-of-the-moment conversation” over a few pints of Guinness in a Glasgow pub, before “growing arms and legs”. “We started completely from the bottom,” explains Ross. “There was no safety net, we just believed we could create an estate agency brand that was different”.
When they first discussed launching in Glasgow’s West End, many people advised them against it. The property market was already crowded, competition was fierce, and some questioned whether there was room for another agency to succeed. Despite the scepticism, the boys believed in their vision and were prepared to work hard to make it a success. Rather than being discouraged by the challenges, they used them as motivation.
Building from the ground up
Neither Jack nor Ross came from traditional property backgrounds, both studying surveying at City of Glasgow College before continuing onto Glasgow Caledonian University. Jack pursued building surveying while Ross studied quantity surveying, with both undertaking additional property letting qualifications and beginning to build the company while working their nine-to-five jobs during the day.
They talk about the 5:30am starts, the late nights, and the diet of microwaved scrambled eggs and Pot Noodles. At the time, Jack was juggling university, a part-time labouring job and building the business all at once. He remembers sitting in the university library switching between coursework and the lettings rent roll, taking calls about maintenance issues between lectures and fitting in property inspections in between. Jack rented their first office on Berkeley Street the day after he graduated from university. Meanwhile, Ross was working full-time as a quantity surveyor while spending evenings and weekends trying to build a client base from scratch, cold-calling and doing everything he could to get the Yates Hellier name out there. It was a demanding period, but one that laid the valuable technical foundations for the successful business they would eventually build.
In the early days, Yates Hellier grew slowly and organically, solely as a letting agency. As a small independent agency, trust had to be earned property by property, client by client. Without the backing or recognition of larger firms, the business relied entirely on reputation and relationships. “Why should people choose us over the bigger agents?” became a question that shaped everything they did. Their estate agency offering was introduced 5 years later, in 2018.
An agency with personality
Estate agency has long been associated with truth-bending, margin pushing, transactional service and impersonal experiences. Jack and Ross saw an opportunity to create something more thoughtful. Their secret? Reverse the mainstream model and create a company with personality and a genuinely hands-on approach.
From the beginning, the boys set out to do things differently, and, more importantly, honestly. While their focus is helping their investor and homeowner clients achieve the highest possible price for their property, they have always believed that clients value transparency and care just as much as results. Rather than overvaluing homes or relying on flashy promises, Yates Hellier focuses on doing the right thing. “We’ve always believed that if you treat people with respect, always do the right thing and genuinely care about the outcome, the rest will take care of itself,” Ross says. “That’s what clients remember, and that’s what becomes your reputation over time”.
Even their style reflects their approach: from the boys adopting a sharp casual dress code, to Ross pottering about on a Vespa to his valuation appointments, and from colour drenching their shop in Farrow & Ball’s Studio Green, to the company’s social media feeling closer to an interiors magazine than a traditional property feed.
Attention to detail is one of the company’s defining characteristics. Homes are professionally photographed in-house, and clients are supported by a team who provide a single-point-of-contact service, pretty much around the clock.
Over time, the business has evolved naturally around the strengths of its founders. Today, Jack oversees the overall business operations, while Ross oversees sales, each bringing their own expertise and personality to the business.
At home in Glasgow’s West End
More than a decade after those early mornings and Pot Noodle dinners, the business has grown beyond anything either could have imagined. In 2025, Yates Hellier acquired CIB Residential, expanding its West End lettings portfolio. Their lettings operation is laced with Jack’s technical acumen and passion for service, all with the tenant and landlord in mind. Jack explains that the aim is to give them what they need, whatever that may be, before they know they need it. Every workflow is considered and intentional.
Ross talks about individual houses rather than sales figures. A townhouse in the Botanics remains particularly exciting; the kind of home he dreamed of selling when the company first began. Yates Hellier have sold exceptional homes ranging from the West End of Glasgow right across to the west coast of Scotland, perfect for Ross when he can combine work with riding his Ducati across the beautiful Scottish landscape.
The business is now firmly rooted in the West End (where Jack and Ross both bought their first flat), and the local community remains central to its identity. As for Glasgow itself, it’s the energy that the boys love. The architecture, the people, and the constant movement of the property market.
Formerly based in nearby offices on Berkeley Street and later Woodside Place, July 2026 marked two years since Yates Hellier opened the doors to its shop on Hyndland Road, now affectionately recognised by locals as “the shop with the hot air balloons in the window”, which they designed themselves. Stepping inside off a busy Hyndland Road, visitors are met by deep green walls and soft lighting. It’s like walking into someone’s living room and feels a world away from the bright, corporate atmosphere of a traditional estate agency.
In the Hyndland Road shop you’ll find Ross and the sales team, while Jack and the lettings team are based over in their office on Eagle Street, near the City Centre.
People behind every property
September 2026 saw Yates Hellier’s highest number of sales to date. For Jack and Ross though, growth has never been purely about numbers (although these are interesting too). Ross explains that it’s about people, homes and their history, meeting them and hearing their stories. It’s these moments that continue to give the work meaning.
And as for the experience and service clients receive with Yates Hellier, the reviews speak for themselves. The company’s reputation is reflected in more than 500 Google reviews and an average rating of 4.9 stars. Today, Yates Hellier employs a team of more than 20 people who the boys trust implicitly, and Ross describes building that team, who he sees as a “work family”, as the part of the journey he enjoys most. Let’s also not forget the ever-growing fur family known as “The Dogs of Yates Hellier”, but that’s a story for another day.
The journey to this point has of course not been without its challenges both professionally and personally. With hard lessons being learned on the job, over the past decade, the boys have built the company while also navigating the realities of life outside work. Long hours, their own house moves, the arrival of children and all the unpredictability that comes with growing a business and everyday family life at the same time. Yet those experiences have only strengthened the values of the company, and the understanding that behind every property transaction is a human story.
Friendship, hard work and the future
One thing that becomes obvious when speaking to Jack and Ross is that, despite working so closely over the last decade and everything this has entailed, they genuinely still enjoy each other’s company. Building a business with a friend is often considered a risk, yet they struggle to recall any serious disagreements. They simply get one another. Away from the office, these days they’re just as likely to spend time together with their families and friends as they are to talk about work. The ideal weekend would involve Jack firing up the Big Green Egg, cooking a few steaks and enjoying an Old Fashioned, or two.
What began as a casual conversation in a pub has grown into one of Glasgow’s highest-rated lettings and estate agencies. This is something Jack and Ross never take for granted. Since the two friends decided to take a chance on themselves, they continue to work towards their ambition of becoming a household name in Scottish property.
There have been a few signs along the way that they might be heading in the right direction. Most recently, Yates Hellier was named Best Local Estate Agency of the Year at The Herald Property Awards for Scotland.
The company has grown, the team has expanded and the ambitions have evolved, but the foundations remain the same as they’ve always been: friendship, hard work and a belief that doing things properly still matters.
The future, the boys say, is about continuing to grow, without ever compromising the service that allowed them to get here in the first place. “We genuinely care about what we do, and about improving every day, for our clients, team and anyone we work with. Usually it’s small, boring, marginal gains, but we all work hard and are consistent with it, building something bigger than ourselves”. In an industry where bigger is often mistaken for better, Yates Hellier is quietly carving its own path.
The story of Yates Hellier may be one of property and business growth. At its heart though, is a story about two friends who decided to build something together and kept going long enough to make it what it is today.
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