Completing the property puzzle

Callaways is celebrating its 90th birthday with an exciting rebrand to Wilbury Residential, SBT meets Heather Hilder-Darling, the owner of the long-standing Hove agency.

On a windswept Brighton seafront, rows of brightly painted beach huts stand in cheerful defiance of the weather. For many, they’re just a pretty backdrop for a weekend stroll. For Heather Hilder-Darling, they’re part of a market she knows better than anyone. “I can tell you the sale price of a beach hut from 12 years ago without looking it up,” she laughs. “It’s a small world – and in Brighton & Hove, the beach hut world is even smaller.”

Heather is the owner of Callaways, the long-standing estate agency celebrating its 90th anniversary. Or at least she was. Callaways has now been reborn as Wilbury Residential.

With over 15 years at the helm, she has steered the business through recessions, market booms, political uncertainty, and a pandemic, all while holding fast to her belief that estate agency is, above all, a people business.

Her passion for property started long before she knew it could be a career. “When I was six or seven, I got a jigsaw puzzle for Christmas – a big stately home, just the façade. I loved piecing together the windows and porticos,” she recalls. Soon after, her father’s work took the family to Kilmarnock in Scotland. “We moved into a brand-new development, and my sister and I would walk around the unfinished phases, balancing on foundations, deciding which room would be which. That’s probably where the creative spark began.”

Since then, Heather has moved 22 times, lived in France, Belgium, and Italy, and developed an instinct for understanding not just the bricks and mortar, but the people whose lives are shaped by them.

Early Career: Sexism and ‘Knowing Your Place’

Her first job in estate agency came in the 1980s, after she returned to Worthing from Europe. The experience was eye-opening, and not always in a good way. “Back then, women weren’t negotiators. We were generally only hired as secretaries. If we went out on viewings, our role was to hold the end of the measuring tape. As a woman, you ‘knew your place’,” she says.

It was a stark contrast to her experience abroad. In Brussels, she had worked for companies on an international scale in communications, biscuits and the European Referendum.  Not many people will remember an early computing company called Wang which introduced some of the first business computers in Europe, but Heather does. “It was frustrating because I knew I had the skills and the tech knowledge, but in estate agency at that time, there was still a very clear hierarchy – and women seemed to be at the bottom of it.”

Networking in those days often meant entering all-male spaces. “I remember a golf day with 100 participants where I was the only woman. Golf was great for meeting people, but I wasn’t going to drink pints all night just to fit in.”

Meanwhile, she was raising three young children without family nearby to help. “There were no school clubs or after-school care like there are now. I somehow managed to cram a full-time job into part-time hours. In the school holidays, the kids spent a lot of time at Worthing Leisure Centre, just so I could keep working.”

Taking the Leap

Around 1988, I spotted an advert in the local newspaper for a vacancy as ‘Land Buyer’ for McCarthy & Stone.  I encouraged my husband Bob, (then working for an estate agency) to apply, as I knew it would suit him to the ground.  He got the job – and we live to tell the tale almost 40 years later.  One of his first commissions went on buying our first buy-to-let and so we began building knowledge and our portfolio.

By the early 1990s, Bob had built a successful career in estate agency, but redundancy during the housing crash became the push they needed to go it alone. Together they launched Land & Brand New Homes, specialising in strategic land sales and show home marketing. “When Bob said he wanted to start the business, we had three kids, a 15% mortgage, and two dogs. I thought he was mad,” she laughs. “But it was the best thing we ever did.”

The entrepreneurial spirit became part of their identity. “We’ve been through so many economic ups and downs that we’ve learned to adapt rather than panic. You keep faith, you work hard, and you find a way through.”

Buying Callaways

In 2007, Bob spotted an opportunity. “He mentioned an agency I might like – it turned out to be Callaways in Hove. It had been around since 1935 and had a great reputation,” Heather recalls. She bought the business and moved into its Church Road premises. “In 2024, we relocated to our own self-contained offices in Wilbury Grove. It’s off the high street, but easy for clients to find and it feels very much our own.”

Some landlords have stayed with Callaways since before Heather bought it. “That kind of loyalty comes from trust, consistency, and delivering what you promise.”

The Human Side of Property

Heather describes Callaways as “a boutique agency” – not in size, but in ethos. “We know our clients personally. We’re not just processing transactions; we’re helping people through some of the biggest changes in their lives.”

A significant part of that work is supporting clients who feel left behind by technology. “If you’ve lived in the same house for 40 years, suddenly facing anti-money laundering checks, GDPR, and endless online forms can be overwhelming,” she says. “Some clients don’t have mobiles or internet access. We break it all down, guide them through it step-by-step, and make sure they have the support they need. Sometimes that means sitting down with them and filling things in together.”

For Heather, this isn’t an optional extra. “For many clients, especially older ones, this level of help makes the difference between them feeling confident or completely lost.”

Brighton’s Beach Hut Queen

If you’ve read a newspaper article about Brighton & Hove beach huts in the last decade, chances are Heather was quoted. Her niche expertise began during lockdown with no one else to carry out the role. “I thought, right, I’ll get stuck in – and I loved it,” she says.

Her connection to beach huts goes back even further. Bob’s family owned one in Rottingdean when he was young. “They’re more than just huts; they’re little havens. I’ve sold them to young families, grandparents, and everyone in between.”

She’s been a regular speaker at Hove Beach Hut Association AGMs, appeared on BBC’s The One Show, and built a blog series around the lifestyle and culture of hut ownership. “People know they can call me years after a sale and I’ll still have the details. It’s a small market, but it’s built on trust.”

Rebranding for the Future

In 2025, 90 years after it was founded, Callaways became Wilbury Residential, the fourth rebrand (but first name change!) since Heather took over. “Branding needs to keep up with the times,” she explains. “Our black, white, and gold look is elegant, but lots of agencies use similar colours now. We want to stand out, be brighter, appeal to new audiences, and show that we’re forward-looking. We’re moving from “Callaways Sales & Lettings” to “Wilbury Residential” – a name rooted in our location and future-focused identity.

The rebrand also reflects an internal shift. “We’re developing our management team so they can lead the business in future. We’re introducing auctions, embracing AI, and looking at acquisitions. The aim is to keep evolving without losing the personal service we’re known for.

“The agency is in good hands.  We have Laura Simpson (who’s quite rightly becoming the Queen of Beach Huts due to her knowledge and impressive number of beach sales! but also manages sales and lettings), Melanie Hilder who manages property maintenance and repairs, alongside various other responsibilities, and Vanessa Light who is our inhouse Company Accountant and has no end of skills.”

At the heart of the rebrand is the focus on the values that Heather has always insisted are adhered to in the business. “We pride ourselves in our professionalism, trust, integrity, authenticity – and being approachable. We are “hand-holders” for our clients, guiding them through every step, whether it’s a landlord navigating 177 pieces of legislation or an elderly couple facing their first move in 40 years.

“On the lettings side, we aim for win–win outcomes between landlords and tenants, smoothing issues rather than letting them escalate.”

The Market Today

Heather is realistic about the challenges facing the property market. “Political uncertainty, mortgage rates, and the after-effects of the pandemic have slowed sales. Houses are taking longer to sell, and more deals fall through at the last minute.”

But she remains optimistic about Brighton & Hove. “The city will always attract London buyers, and Worthing offers great value for those wanting a slightly quieter life by the sea. There will always be people who need to move. The key is confidence.”

Partners in Life and Business

Heather and Bob have known each other since they were 14 and have been married for 41 years. They work in separate offices – “which helps!” she jokes – and play to their strengths. “He’s a natural salesperson; I’m more marketing, admin, and creative. We don’t see much of each other during the day, unless he’s bringing me a doughnut or a cup of tea.”

They do, however, have to guard against shop talk taking over their personal time. “We’ve ruined a few rounds of golf by bringing up work halfway through. You have to work at keeping that balance.”

Why She’s Not Retiring Yet

At 70, Heather has no plans to slow down. “I’ve seen friends retire and get left behind. I don’t want that. I like waking up and thinking, ‘What am I going to learn today, apart from improving my golf swing?’”

That might be mastering a new CRM feature, finding a creative solution to a tricky sale, or navigating a sudden market change. “It keeps my brain active, and it keeps me connected to people and the world around me. That’s reason enough to keep going.”