Patrick Siberil founded Alioth Properties nine years ago after working for 15 years in banking in Brittany and 5 years in Paris . He was born in Brittany and after moving to Paris vowed one day he would return. Patrick and his wife have three grown up sons and live near Carhaix and share a passion for Brittany . It's a very unique region, many Bretons dispute it is actually part of France - but that's another story!

Breton history is rich and full of links to the UK, during the last war there was a higher percentage of resistance fighters in Brittany than anywhere else in France . Patrick's father was one of them and near his home is a memorial in honour of those courageous men and women who lost their lives here during the occupation.

With a wide experience in financial and investment matters Patrick realised there was a need here for an efficient and more focused personal property service offering a complete buying package and fully transparent on all costs involved. His business philosophy is as straightforward as the service offered:

'buying property is a big investment, it needs handling with professional care and clients are entitled to know all they will have to pay. All too often some agents are vague in revealing all these costs.

Patrick runs Alioth Properties from a home based office. The reason he chose not to open in the high street is simple, it keeps overheads down and allows Alioth to offer a more direct one to one service to fully discuss budgets and criteria. In his words: 'Look at any high street agency, who pays for their lease, office costs and staff salaries? Quite simply clients buying property with them - yet try to contact them during the two hour lunch break! Alioth realise people spend time and money to visit Brittany and every effort is made to only show them properties within their brief - with additional protection built in to safeguard them during the purchase process. Full details of Alioth's buying package can be found in this newsletter.

The name Alioth is the French name for a star constellation, Patrick chose the name to reflect people's dreams and aspirations which often motivate their desire for a home in France - also alphabetically Alioth has a listing advantage!

Michael Wadham has a background in graphics and advertising in the UK, as well as spending time as a professional drummer. With a passion for French life he worked in a design studio near Lille in 1988. After a brief spell working in London he migrated south to Tunbridge Wells and endured the pressure of advertising agency life with one eye still firmly towards France . Finally, he purchased what was to be a holiday cottage in Brittany two years ago with Alioth Properties

but soon cut the apron strings to move over with his partner Sally. He has five grown up children living in the UK .

Michael was very impressed by the Alioth ethos after house hunting with many agents in various parts of France, 'I became exasperated by the approach of some agents who could be elusive on costs, difficult to contact and unreliable. Arriving in Brittany on my first trip here and meeting Patrick was very enlightening, I felt confident with the service and had no hesitation to buy my first property here with Alioth.

I have since bought a second property and my partner has also bought a property here with Patrick'. With an advertising/graphics background and good grounding in French language Michael was invited to join Patrick at Alioth and together formulate a very efficient, direct and personal property service. Michael states: I was very disillusioned with life in England generally, constantly congested roads, rising crime rates and increasing costs of running a home were becoming intolerable for me. My children had all grown up and now it was time for me to break free.

Though my job was sales based I was not comfortable with the cut and thrust of advertising life - my natural inclination is that if you have a good product it will speak for itself to the right buyer - there's no need for pushy sales patter and that's the approach I adopt with Alioth. We concentrate on our service and buying package. There is no need for 'flouncy estate agency speak' with many properties offering fabulous locations and excellent prices they sell themselves to those that like what they see here in Brittany.