An estate agency office is to reopen this weekend after being closed for eight months after a fire.

Andrews’ office in Purley, Surrey, had only been ‘refreshed’ a year earlier when a fire took hold in the flat above it last October.

Whilst the estate agency branch escaped the flames, it suffered extensive water damage as a result of the eight fire engines which were required to extinguish the fire.

Area manager David Bryant said: “We were lucky to not be directly affected by the fire, but the work required to get us back on our feet because of the water damage was, nonetheless, extensive.

“It involved pumping out the water from the flooded basement; stripping the property back to its shell including all the electrics; drying out the interior and rebuilding the interior with new walls, ceilings and flooring before adding all new fixtures, fittings, furniture and finishes.”

The seven members of staff have spent the last eight months working out of the nearby Andrews branch in Coulsdon.

A relaunch event tomorrow is due to be attended by local dignitaries and representatives of CAYSH, a charity that supports young people with housing issues and which is backed by Andrews.