PROPERTY experts in Oxfordshire were taken by surprise as the Government announced the immediate suspension of Home information packs (Hips).

Key Hips was set up in Botley in 2007, when sellers were first required by law to provide the packs of information before they could market their homes.

Co-founder Tom Claridge said the company was now regrouping, with all 25 staff being moved to sister company Key Agents.

"At the moment, we are keeping everyone on, and we will be specialising in estate agency marketing.

"We already provide professional photography, floor plans and the energy performance certificates, which are still needed.

"It's important to remember that everything in the Hip will still be needed by the solicitors — just later in the process."

He admitted he was surprised the packs were being suspended before the consultation process, but added: "We have thought ahead and we will have the solicitors' packs ready."

Key Hips' rapid growth led to it being named Small Business of the Year in last year's Oxfordshire Business Awards and Key Agents is shortlisted again this year.

Hips, which cost between £300 and £350, aimed to reduce the amount of time it took to buy and sell a home by providing buyers with more of the information they needed up front, such as local authority searches.

The suspension was welcomed by estate agents Savills, who said they failed to help home buyers and discouraged people from putting their property on the market.

Giles Lawton, of Savills, said: "It's much easier for us that we can just get on and put houses on the market as soon as the clients are ready, and it reduces the financial burden for vendors.

"We have got used to Hips, but they didn't speed up the transaction at a later stage, which was the intention. People still need an energy performance certificate, but that's fairly easy to organise and only a small cost.

"It's positive for us, but I do feel sorry for all the people who provide the Hips. It was a good idea and it should have been helpful, but it didn't work."

However, another Oxford estate agent, David Blythman of Scott Fraser, said: "We are disappointed. Having created the Hips, they should have put more effort into maintaining the structure.

"It didn't quite work, but if they removed the requirement to get them done before the house is marketed, they could have cut down the time of the house-selling process."

The Association of Home Information Pack Providers estimates there are between 3,000 and 10,000 people whose livelihoods are either directly or indirectly dependent on Hips.