Growing estate agency Tanner and Cooper has bought another rival just months after buying Wells agency Jill Meadows.

The company says it also has plans to expand its network via acquisition across Somerset and Wiltshire and become a significant regional player.

This latest acquisition is of Geoffrey Smith, a well-known property firm with branches in Shepton Mallet and Midsomer Norton.

Its owner, Andrea Catley (pictured), is to join Cooper and Tanner’s existing Shepton Mallet office as its branch manager, taking her five sales and lettings colleagues and client base with her.

The Geoffrey Smith branch in Shepton Mallet will become a Cooper and Tanner office, giving it a presence in the historic town for the first time since the 1960s.

Oliver Jenkin (pictured), an Associate of Cooper and Tanner and deputy head of its residential department says:  “I have no doubt that the existing Midsomer Norton  team, combined with our  branding, comprehensive marketing and range of services will help drive that office forward to great success”.

Catley says: “I am very fortunate I can continue to do the job I am very passionate about and I am sure our clients past, present and future will appreciate the Geoffrey Smith customer proposition has been strengthened with the Cooper and Tanner branding.

“Cooper and Tanner will also have a long awaited office in Midsomer Norton. An exciting time for everyone.”

Frome-based Cooper and Tanner is unusual within the industry having remained an independent estate agency since being established in 1908, initially as an auctioneer.