Our origins stretch back to 1760, the year when Orcadian David Shepherd set up trade as a joiner, and the Shepherd family association threads its way throughout most of the partnership’s 250 year history.

By 1806 Robert Shepherd, joiner, master wright and Free Burgess of the city, had extended the business in Dundee as a house factor and the firm continued to prosper throughout the nineteenth century. Joseph Shepherd headed the operation in 1876 and was joined by Edward Shepherd in 1880, the year when the partnership of J&E Shepherd commenced.

Six years later Inglis Shepherd joined and, by 1931, still very much a family firm, the partners were Joseph and Inglis Shepherd, who were joined in 1945 by Edward Shepherd. Frederick C Henderson was assumed as a partner four years later.

In 1953 the partnership comprised Joseph, Edward and David Arnot Shepherd and Frederick C Henderson, with Joseph retiring four years later and Edward retiring in 1963. The firm entered the 1970s with David Arnot Shepherd and W. Derek C. Toft as partners.

1973 saw the opening of an Aberdeen office and John C. Leheny and John M. Bennett were assumed as partners that same year. An Edinburgh office opened four years later and Perth followed in 1981, the year that Leslie W. Canavan, John A. Thomson and Campbell R. Christie were assumed as partners.

The 1980s was a period of significant expansion for Shepherd, with offices in Fraserburgh and Kirkcaldy opening in 1984, Glasgow and Montrose offices opening in 1987 and Dumfries, St Andrews and Stirling offices opening the following year, the same year that John Bankhead, Paul D. Letley and Grant Williams were assumed as partners.

The pace of expansion picked up even further in the 1990s, which began with the opening of offices in Peterhead and Inverness and saw George P Brewster and Murray Smith assumed as partners. Ian J. Fergusson and David B. Ferguson were assumed as partners in 1994 and the following year heralded the opening of a Livingston office and the retirement of David Arnot Shepherd.

A year later saw three more office openings – in Ayr, Kilmarnock and Saltcoats – and Ian W. Cameron and Gerrard McCluskey were assumed as partners. One year on, 1997, and another three offices opened in Falkirk, Dunfermline and Motherwell. In 1998 offices opened in Musselburgh and Galashiels, followed by Coatbridge and Greenock in 1999. That same year saw Kevin I. Angus, Christopher J. Grinyer, J. Malcolm Hunter, James M. McIntyre and Paul Taylor assumed as partners.

Shepherd entered its fourth century of operations by opening an office in East Kilbride in 2001 and expanded across the border into England and Wales in 2002 to establish its Central Survey Operations Centre at Pride Park in Derby. James Stewart was assumed as a partner that same year.

2003 saw the retiral of John A Thomson and Leslie W Canavan while 2004 heralded the arrival of Jason Begg, Craig Brown, Michael Horne, Darren Lewis, Ewen Sparks and Graeme Stewart as partners.

The Hamilton office opened in 2005, the year that Alan Edgar became a partner and Campbell R Christie retired. Meanwhile, due to rapid expansion in England and Wales, Shepherd relocated to Chetwynd Business Park at Chilwell in Nottingham that same year. Business growth in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has continued apace and the firm now employs more than 50 surveyors across the main cities and regional conurbations of the UK.

Steven Barnett, D Niall Gunn and Neil Thomson were assumed as partners in 2006, joined a year later by Lachlan MacFarlane, Adrian Stott and Martin Waite. 2007 also saw the opening of an office in Cumbernauld and the retiral of John M Bennett.

2008 saw the opening of an office in Mayfair, London and a Channel Islands office in Jersey. The same year heralded the launch of Shepherd Prime, a division specialising in high value residential property.

In 2009 Shepherd opened an office in Dumbarton and in Forfar, its thirtieth office in Scotland.

Established over 125 years ago, Shepherd is one of Scotland’s leading firms of chartered surveyors, valuers, property agents and managers.

Operating from a network of 30 offices throughout Scotland, our clients benefit from the experience, expertise and resources associated with a major practice aligned to comprehensive local market knowledge.

We offer a multi-disciplinary property service that includes:

1. mortgage valuation
2. sales and lettings of property
3. building surveying
4. rent reviews
5. development and investment
6. consultancy
7. rating
8. building surveying
9. property management.

Our team of dedicated surveyors offers clients a comprehensive, professional and efficient property service.