A well-known figure in the industry, Michael O’Flaherty, has died.
He was area director for Roger Platt, part of the Connells Group, working in its office in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
He worked for the firm for over 45 years, joining what was then Roger Platt and Partners, a highly successful and entrepreneurial firm in the Thames Valley, in 1972.
Michael enjoyed a long and colourful estate agency career and made his mark well beyond his local patch.
He enjoyed a stint as the resident estate agent on Carol Vorderman’s TV makeover show ‘Better Homes’ and appearances on the GMTV sofa alongside Keith Chegwin, Status Quo and Christine Hamilton to name just a few.
He was also a regular property pundit for BBC Radio Berkshire amongst others.
An avid fan of Bruce Springsteen, he saw ‘The Boss’ perform live over 100 times.
An excellent agent, his Maidenhead office came first out of 300 Sequence branches two years ago in the company’s internal awards.
A Connells spokesperson said: “Michael was renowned for having many anecdotes from his years in estate agency and we will remember him for his wit, wicked sense of humour and wealth of experience and energy in estate agency.
“It is a tragic loss for all of us who knew him and our hearts and deepest condolences go out to his wife Jacqui, children Calum and Mollie, and the rest of his family.”
Comments (6)
So sorry to hear of the passing of Michael. Although our paths hadn’t crossed for some years I have nothing but great memories of our time at Royal Life Estates and more especially our shared love of music and in particular Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. He took me to many great concerts in London and we enjoyed the odd game of golf along the way, he was certainly larger than life and such a great personality,
From an industry perspective, he was, in my view, the best real Estate Agent, I have ever met. Watching him in action in his beloved Maidenhead office or mentoring a group of agents in one of his training sessions was a privilege, the best ! He will, I know, be sadly missed by all his colleagues as well as his many friends up here in the North.
My sincere condolences to his wife and family. My thoughts are with you on this very sad day.
A very sad day for the industry , I had the pleasure of working with Michael at Royal Life Estates /Sequence , a consummate professional and thoroughly good chap to boot . Condolences to family at this sad time .
Like Mark Pilling above I also had the pleasure of working with Michael at Royal Life Estates. In 1992 from his office in Maidenhead he was propelled to the heady heights of Managing Director of Barnard Marcus, a position vacated by the departure of Robin Paterson who had bought out the four central London offices of Barnard Marcus as part of his move in acquiring Cluttons London Residential. Michael was held in enormous regard by all his colleagues, not only in the company, but in the industry in general and enjoyed great success, not only within his estate agency work, but also working on his day time television programme with Carol Vordeman which he readily admitted on several occasions put his kids through school! Sitting in our (then) head office at Dukes Gate in Chiswick however was not Michael’s style at all, likening himself to a fish out of water and after little soul searching he returned to his beloved Roger Platt office in Maidenhead where he was determined to get the pipeline back up to and over £300,000, something that I guess many branch manager’s would kill for today (bearing in mind this was probably about 1994). I know he also missed working with his wife Jacqui who was an exceptionally accomplished mortgage broker in his office. Thanks for the memories old chap. You will be sorely missed by family, friends and past colleagues alike.
I did not have the pleasure of meeting Michael, but I send compassionate thoughts to his family, friends, and colleagues at this very sad time.
Didn’t have the pleasure of meeting the chap – but he will be sadly missed in life and in industry.
Condolences to those that knew and loved him.
Michael was an effervescent estate agent and I am sure will be missed in his area. I had the privilege to know him during my corporate days and always admired his motivation and ability as an estate agent.