A YOUNG businesswoman with an ethical stance on lettings is expanding with a new branch aged just 30.

Five years ago to the week, Lucy Dawe handed her notice in at a lettings agent in Surrey, having had enough.

She would not agree to sign an unwell 90-year-old woman for a two-year fixed tenancy.

So she moved south and started Lawton and Dawe Properties and has now relocated from a small office in Shoreham to a new outlet in Hove.

On leaving her old post behind on moral grounds, Miss Dawe told The Argus: “I just couldn’t do it any more - you get tired of having to do things that go against what you want to do.

“Everybody has that in every industry but some people can just get on with it. For me it didn’t sit right so I had to leave.”

She said being ethical will not necessarily work for every business.

“It’s case-specific,” she said, “But I’m quite a moralistic person.

“I have always thought: ‘What would my mum and dad say?’

“And that’s my base point.”

Since setting out on her own five years ago, Miss Dawe’s portfolio of companies has grown to encompass sales and letting agents Lawton & Dawe Properties and property management company Property Fusion.

Miss Dawe has worked in the lettings, and now sales, industry for more than 15 years and said she has occasionally lost money through her ethical choices.

She said: “It’s not always easy – I don’t think I’m any sort of crusader but I do want to take on a different approach to lettings.

“It’s about longevity. We are not aiming to be multimillionaires. I’m not going to be giving Richard Branson a run for his money but I love it, it’s my passion.

“If you want to progress in a career where you are confident, happy and really proud, that’s what you have to do.”

One of her standpoints is pets – sometimes dreaded by property owners.

Miss Dawe has two dogs of her own: Spike and Panda. She empathises with tenants who have pets and is part of the association Lets With Pets.

She said: “It’s vital to encourage landlords to take on lettings with pets, where suitable.

“Lots of animals get rehomed because agents don’t accept pets.

“I’m very lucky that the landlords I have now are fantastic.”

Miss Dawe runs her businesses on the principal of “managing homes, not houses” and now has a team of six staff.