The Dunfermline office of DM Hall is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The office, which opened for business in 1990 with partner Alasdair Seaton and secretary Vicky McCallum, now houses two partners, four associates and 19 staff. It has established four distinct divisions and is now one of the major property services providers in the region.

To mark this anniversary, DM Hall hosted over 170 guests along for a celebratory music quiz, which also raised over £1000 for the firm’s charity partner CHAS. This is the latest milestone in a journey which has seen sustained growth despite some of the most challenging market conditions ever experienced.

Alasdair Seaton said: “Looking back at this time, I think DM Hall can take pride in the way it has managed to attract and retain the right people and to identify and maximise opportunities for growth when they have arisen.

“Over the last quarter century, the focus has been exclusively on bringing the best people into the firm to provide the best possible quality of service across a range of services, and this is reflected in DM Hall’s excellent portfolio of clients and repeat business.”

Mr Seaton opened the first Dunfermline office in New Row, where it operated for 10 years before moving to the current premises in 27 Canmore Street, where it has the first floor and has just taken the remainder of the lower ground floor which it did not already occupy.

He said: “We opened in April 1990 and the market subsided in August of that year and did not recover until 1998. So we were faced with growing the business in a very subdued and quiet market.

“However, we were able to attract very talented and ambitious individuals to the firm. Ian Swayne joined in 1992 and then we brought in excellent trainees such as Gordon McCulloch, who now runs the Stirling office, Richard Blanski, who now runs Shepherds in Kirkcaldy, Justin Beveridge, now at DTZ, Jonathan Mitchell, who is with Lambert Smith Hampton and Margaret Mitchell has remained a key member of our commercial department.

“One of our great coups was attracting Michael Court who came in to develop and expand our commercial department. He now heads up our East commercial division.

“Another great find was Alan Jeffrey. Alan brought expertise not only in architectural services but also in the provision of property enquiry certificates and legal searches. As part of our current expansion of this department, Amanda Cameron now heads up the searching side of the business. Locally it gives us great pleasure that both of these services are provided throughout Scotland from our base in Dunfermline.”

The Canmore Street office had previously been a pub and restaurant and DM Hall took the first floor and most of the lower ground floor when it moved in to the building in the year 2000.

Mr Seaton said: “There have been highs and lows over the 25 years. One of the great pleasures has been to see the trainees we brought in, doing so well both in the firm and elsewhere in the profession.

“The worst time was 2008, when the economy collapsed and the phones just stopped ringing. Without a doubt, that was the worst period of my professional life. But it says a lot for the team that we have built in Dunfermline that we not only survived but that we continue to grow and expand.”

“I have had great fun since the early days and I hugely enjoy the social side of the business, with many clients now also being personal friends.”

“We are looking forward to a very strong and sustainable future now in Dunfermline. May I say to all our people in DM Hall and to all our existing and future clients: here’s to the next 25 years.”