BREAKING: Eight-branch estate agency bought for c£30m by Lomond
Chase Evans, which has been operating in London since the 1990s, has been acquired by Lomond Group after an energetic bidding campaign between multiple bidders.
One of London’s big estate agencies with multiple offices and three decades’ experience within the property market has been sold to the Lomond Group after a highly competitive round of bidding between multiple parties.
Chase Evans, which a full-service estate and lettings agency with eight offices in London plus fully-staffed operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, has been sold for an estimated £30 million based on its letting book value, The Neg understands, which industry watchers describe as a ‘good deal’ for its directors.
The acquisition means Lomond now has a major toe-hold in the Capital, something it has been keen to achieve as other ‘market-share hungry’ competitors such as Foxtons and Dexters have bought up agencies over the past 12 months.
Founded in 1988, Chase Evans has its headquarters in the Elephant and Castle plus branches in Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, central London and Greenwich but has an unusually low profile within the industry.
Directors
Its three directors are 56-year-old Gary McLuckie, 72-year-old Ian Irons and 51-year-old Adam Holden who have all been at the firm for varying lengths of time although Irons has been there the longest and at least one, Holden, is to remain as the business moves over to new ownership.
Holden says: “We’re very excited about working with the senior team at Lomond, particularly Ed [Phillips], John [Ennis] and Lucy [Jones] given the experience they have within the London market.
“The wider Lomond organisation will also provide us with the support and resources we need to really take the Chase Evans business to the next level and can’t wait to see where the brand can now go from here.”
4,000 properties
The firm, which will now become Lomond’s ‘hub’ agency in London, has some 150 staff and, no doubt of interest to Lomond, a lettings book of 4,000 properties in some of the capital’s most high-growth newbuild and BTR markets.
Operations Director at Chase Evans, Ian Ruffle, commented: “Chase Evans’ success is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff, who are the cornerstone of everything we do, they are our extended family, and we believe this culture has been the key to the longevity of our success.
“Some of our senior staff members have been with the business for ten to twenty years and so for us, it was key that any deal done ensured that the continuity of the business remained, which Lomond has allowed us to do.”
Low profile
The company is publicity shy to say the least, and its few outings into PR-land include a public endorsement for LeadPro and now-defunct Boomin. The only time the firm has made the news in a major way was during 2019 when two teenagers robbed its Elephant & Castle branch, terrifying staff with a knife and stealing mobile phones. The youths involved were caught and went to jail.
‘Good deal’
Despite the company’s low profile, the deal will be the biggest industry acquisition in recent times as it is bigger than the £29 million purchase of Marsh & Parsons by Dexters in January 2023 or Douglas and Gordon by Foxtons in March 2021 for £14.25 million.
Chase Evans’ acquisition is a rewarding one for the shareholding directors compared to the Douglas & Gordon sale. That agency had more branches (19) and a larger lettings book but sold for half the price. Chase Evans has £2 million cash in the bank which will have been added to the purchase price paid by Lomond, Companies House declarations show.
