City investment firm buys lettings giant Lomond for £450m

London-based private equity investment firm ICG has acquired the lettings giant Lomond for £450m after a protracted sales process.

Lomond Group was created in 2021 by the merger of northern estate agency Linley & Simpson and Lomond Capital and then embarked on a highly aggressive acquisition programme.

To date, it has hoovered up over 65 estate agencies, whilst also establishing a ‘hub and spoke’ structure, with key agencies becoming regional centres and smaller agencies added as linked firms.

Rumours

However, rumours began circulating back in September that a number of investors, including ICG, were examining a potential purchase of the estate agency group.

At the time, Lomond would neither confirm nor deny them, but Sky News reports that ICG has agreed a £450m deal to buy Lomond after an auction process lasting several months. Lomond’s owner, LDC, will reinvest alongside it.

The transaction will support Lomond’s continued growth strategy of further consolidation through M&A in its existing markets and provide additional capital to drive expansion into new regions.”

LDC says: “The transaction will support Lomond’s continued growth strategy of further consolidation through M&A in its existing markets and provide additional capital to drive expansion into new regions.”

And Ed Phillips, CEO, Lomond adds: “We’re now looking forward to accelerating our growth in the coming years as we continue our journey as the best estate agency network in the UK.”

Mark Piasecki, Managing Director at ICG, says, “We see significant future value creation opportunity through further organic growth initiatives in its core regional markets, in addition to leading the consolidation drive in a highly fragmented market through what is a well-proven M&A platform.

“We look forward to working closely with Ed and the talented management team to fulfil Lomond’s significant potential.”

Adam Walker, a broker who specialises in the sale of letting agencies comments: “We have already had a record year for business sales and just when we thought that M & A activity in the Lettings sector couldn’t get any hotter, along comes a new entrant to the market.

“This is bound to speed up the pace of mergers and acquisitions still further and I expect further announcements will follow soon. At a recent conference, I said that the consolidation of the lettings sector will be all over in 10 years’ time and in view of this latest announcement the timescale is now likely to be shorter still.”