Connells is on the acquisition trail north of the border after snapping up two Scottish estate agencies  bringing its buying spree to four agencies so far this year across the UK.

The industry giant, which now calls itself ‘the most successful property services group’, has bought Campbell & Dean Limited and The Property Store (East Kilbride) Limited.

Campbell & Dean (main image) is a successful independent letting agency in Falkirk, while The Property Store is a well-established sales and lettings business in East Kilbride.

It was founded by Lorri Robb and has been a trusted name in East Kilbride for over two decades. Lorri has stepped into early retirement, with her son Euan remaining in the business under Connells’ ownership.

“Selling your business after 25 years is a big life event – I can’t thank Laura and the team at Atomic enough for helping me through it,” she says.

Campbell & Dean was sold by founder James Redfern, who is moving on to explore other ventures and perhaps catch a few waves along the way, having recently taken up surfing lessons. “Selling a business isn’t something you take lightly,” he says.

Rebrands

Both firms will rebrand into Connells Group’s leading Scottish brand, Slater Hogg & Howison, which already operates in Falkirk and East Kilbride, with new and existing staff joining forces to offer an elevated service and maintain trusted client relationships in each location.

Connells says it bought both firms for their strong local reputations while the purchases add collectively almost 900 properties to the group’s already huge lettings portfolio. Both acquisitions were handled by the broker, Atomic Consultancy.

Under the Slater Hogg & Howison brand, the businesses will now benefit from the Group’s extensive lettings support services, technical expertise and large applicant database.

“These are both fantastic, trusted agencies with strong lettings portfolios and brilliant staff. We’re thrilled to welcome our new colleagues from both Campbell & Dean and The Property Store to our Group and thank their previous owners for trusting us to build on their success as they move on to new ventures,” says Chris Rosindale, Connells Group’s Chief Operations Officer.

“This is part of an exciting new chapter for Connells Group where investment and growth play a key role in our future plans, and we’re committed to further growing our sales and lettings footprint with quality agencies in England, Scotland and Wales.”