THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW:ANGUS POTTERTON MD, Savills Hamilton Osborne King, by Ciara O'Brien.

There are undoubtedly people who would question Angus Potterton's sense of timing. The man who left school wanting to be a farmer took over as managing director of estate agents Savills Hamilton Osborne King late last year, just as the decade-long property boom ran out of steam.

But Potterton is determinedly optimistic, even if the market woes of recent months have tested that resolve.

Residential property prices tumbled 7 per cent last year and the prognosis for 2008 is for a similar decline.

On the commercial side, the Dublin market was already struggling with falling yields and domestic investors who increasingly were looking overseas for opportunity.

The credit crunch has only exacerbated that situation with international banks proving increasingly nervous about speculative lending as they nurse growing losses. In Ireland, while the sub-prime market has not been a significant issue, banks are getting edgy about some of their more exposed customers.

Last year was good for Savills, the largest publicly-listed estate agent in Britain. Underlying profits increased 14 per cent to £85.5 million from £75 million. However, group chief executive Aubrey Adams noted that "commercial investment transactions slowed in the second half following the effect of the credit squeeze" while residential sales slowed towards the end of the year.

But Savills cautioned that 2008 will be a challenging year for the property industry worldwide, as the global financial market turmoil persists.

Since its takeover by Savills, Hamilton Osborne King (HOK) no longer breaks out figures for its Irish performance. Potterton refused to detail whether the Irish operation matched its 2006 performance that saw pretax profits double to €8.1 million, saying only that: "We had a very good year."

However, he concedes that 2008 will be more challenging. The second-hand residential property market, which has attracted much of the negative publicity in recent times, accounts for less than 10 per cent of the group's Irish business. And the outlook for new homes sales, while difficult, has improved somewhat with the decision of a number of builders to drop prices on their developments.

But it is the commercial market that will make or break the fortunes of Savills HOK. The company says it is the largest commercial property agent by turnover in the Republic and Potterton points out that, even in residential's best years, you could make as much in one commercial deal as in your whole residential business.

"While it is a more challenging marketplace and the outlook continues to depend on how quickly confidence returns to the market, we believe [ we] are well placed to capitalise on the undoubted opportunities that exist."

It could have turned out very differently for Potterton. After a brief unhappy flirtation with business studies and accountancy, he turned his attention to agriculture. "What I really wanted to do when I left school was be a farmer. My father was a solicitor, but I grew up on a farm and I loved it."

He was on the verge of emigrating to Australia when his mother enrolled him in an auctioneering course in Bolton Street. The property business is a family industry, with several family members already involved. "My grandfather was one of the first estate agents in Ireland - TE Potterton in Trim, which my cousin now runs, and two of my uncles were auctioneers," Potterton explains.

Potterton moved to the UK where he was largely involved in property management. It was a chance meeting that led to Potterton's return to Ireland. "About nine years ago I got a call to see if I would come back. At the time, it was to open Liffey Valley. There was a client of mine in London over here and on his way out the door someone asked him if he knew anyone who could manage this shopping centre."

Returning to Ireland, Potterton continued to concentrate on asset management until he succeeded Paul McNieve as managing director.

"There's a huge amount of luck in this - being in the right place at the right time. There is fate and luck and everything involved."

OF COURSE, the company's merger with UK-based Savills's last year has presented the team with further challenges and opportunities.

"The merger has been very successful," says Potterton. "Gunne's, Jones Lang, Lisneys - all the big players - were looking at opportunities to team up with other European networks, or worldwide networks. The way the property market has gone in Ireland you need access to product throughout the world now. Irish investors are all over Eastern Europe, Europe, and the US. We had to have access to that, and in order to get access we needed a partner.

"We were in association with several companies for a number of years. The feeling was that unless you were part of a company, the whole thing wasn't gelling. You were always minding your clients, worrying if the association going to last. So by actually becoming part of an organisation and selling our business into it, it meant we were fully integrated and gelled together."

Hamilton Osborne King had been approached several times over the years by potential buyers, but it was only when Irish investors began turning heavily to foreign markets that the firm decided the time was right to accept Savills's offer.

The company now has three people working almost full time in London, which Potterton says has helped speed up integration. "We have people over there, working with the London people on the London desk sourcing product for Irish clients. That has really cemented the whole thing," he says.

"Everyone knows that the market is more difficult at the moment. Savills's view is that they bought the number one player in Ireland. They're not looking at a short-term one-year horizon, they are building a global company and they got their hands on the biggest and best business in Ireland. For them it's not a one or two-year play - it's long term."

Regardless of what the public may believe, Potterton is convinced that Irish investors are still seeking to put their money into property. And he believes that, if anything, the stock market volatility of the past year - which has seen some blue-chip stocks more than halve in value - will only reconfirm Irish investors faith in property as an investment class.

"The Irish investor is still incredibly strong. They have been the most aggressive investors in the UK and Europe for the last couple of years," says Potterton. "That is still there; that money hasn't disappeared. The big commercial investors are still there and that's where the big fees are earned. Even in the best years of residential, you could make as much in one commercial deal as you would in your whole residential business."

He says the general feeling now is that the only thing holding back the market is the financial institutions, as the tighter lending policies impact on the market. "The credit crunch is having a big bearing on the commercial market."

He remains optimistic about a recovery in the second half of 2008. "The future looks very good. And, long term it's vital that we're part of this bigger global market," he concludes.

Name:Angus Potterton.

Age:43

Position:MD of Savills Hamilton Osborne King

Family:Married.

Education:King's Hospital, and then business in Rathmines College of Commerce and auctioneering in Bolton Street.

Career:Moved to England after graduating. Returned to manage the opening of the Liffey Valley Centre before joining Hamilton Osborne King, where he became managing director last year.

Something that might surprise:Potterton's ambition on leaving school was to become a farmer.

Something you might expect:Estate agency is in the family. His grandfather opened one of the first estate agencies in the State.

Why he is in the news:Parent company Savills reported strong financial results for 2007 this week.