BREAKING: Chestertons snaps up key rival for undisclosed sum
London Residential and its 20+ workforce are to become part of the growing Chestertons network within the capital.
Chestertons, one of the capital’s better-known estate agencies, has bought high-profile independent North West London rival London Residential for an undisclosed sum.
The single-branch agency, which is based in Camden, will be absorbed into the Chestertons network and its staff and its operations will transfer to the larger agency’s nearby office.
But London Residential is no one-branch minow. It has over 20 staff and in September last year itself merged with another agency, Saffron International. It also has operations outside London both in the newbuild sector in several of the UK’s key cities as well as strong connections to the Asian investor market.
Its acquisition by Chestertons is in addition to the agency’s similar deals recently including buying east London lettings business Morgan Randall and Fulham lettings agency Snell & Snell.
Steven Govier (third from right, main pic), London Residential’s founder and CEO says: “Nearly 20 years after setting up the business, I am glad to be able to pass it to a company with the history, reputation and vision of Chestertons. “Chestertons is without doubt one of the top agencies in London and I know our clients will be in very capable hands and will be able to enjoy the benefits of its impressive processes and scale.”
Guy Gittins (pictured), CEO of Chestertons, adds: “With extremely strong demand from buyers and tenants, our expansion and the coherent boost of our portfolio couldn’t have come at a better time.
“London Residential has grown an excellent reputation since it was established in 2003 and our acquisition is a vital step to support Chestertons’ industry-leading organic growth and will further accelerate our market share of 31 offices across London.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in acquiring independent agencies that have the potential to improve our London coverage. As a crucial element of our growth strategy, we are also investing in new technology and our ‘People and Culture’ department, which recruits, trains and develops the best people in the industry to ensure that our clients always get the best advice and the best service.”
Chestertons itself is up for sale, following the recent announcement by its owner that he was looking for £100m to offload the firm.
