Lettings agency owner plans to make firm major player in SE
Owner of lettings agency in Portsmouth area plans to create biggest independent group in Hampshire.
A Portsmouth-based businessman has revealed he has ambitious plans to create the largest independent lettings agency in Hampshire.
Tom Soane (pictured) owner of Pink Street, has just completed his fifth agency acquisition in two years, and aims to purchase more as he expands his property management empire.
He has successfully acquired Whites in Fareham, Taylor Garnier in Wickham, Tenant Finders in Southsea, YesCanDo in Havant, and Principal Properties in Waterlooville.
“If I had 4,000 properties [under management] that would put me up there,” he said. The firm currently has under 1,000 lettings in its portfolio.
Aggressive
“We have got a way to go, but I’m on an aggressive acquisition path, and would like to have that target within seven years,” he added. “My role is to continually acquire new businesses, ad drop them into my existing operation.”
Soane said he saw Leaders as the main rival, as he looks to grow the business further afield, with Southampton among his target areas.
“I am not looking to go beyond a 50-mile radius now,” he said. But he didn’t rule out further long-term expansion.
Stay independent
He stressed he wants to remain as an independent business: “I am not trying to be Leaders.”
Soane’s approach to new business centres around networking, and making as many contacts as he can with existing letting firms.
The firm, Pink Street, was named after Pink Road in Portsmouth, which is one of the most prominent in the city. An original name of ‘Umoove’ had to be changed after a complaint from online agency Emoov.
