Playing the property market

Property selling was sold to solicitors in the late 1990s as the way to save their conveyancing practices.

And the evidence of some members of the Solicitors Property Shop (SPS) - such as those in Darlington - is that it can make a positive difference to the bottom line.

And yet the take-up by law firms has been nowhere near the level organisers hoped.

SPS has closed its showroom and property paper in Newcastle because there was not enough business to justify them.

It has certainly been a chastening experience for Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre, which tried to import its highly successful model south of Hadrian's Wall through the SPS.

This, in part, has been the problem.

ESPC failed to remember that the Edinburgh centre had humble roots - after all, it did not start with a showroom.

They have learnt the lessons the hard way and adapted the model accordingly.

And they do not give up easily, as witnessed by the new administrative office in the midlands.

The fact remains that a property-selling practice potentially can do a lot for high street firms.

That many have yet to embrace it often comes down to fear of what could be lost.

But if conveyancing is in as bad a state as many practitioners claim, how much is there to lose in the first place?