A well-known estate agency in the North West of England has been bought out by its management following the retirement of a co-founder.

Regan & Hallworth was established nearly 30 years ago by its eponymous founders Amanda Law – formerly Hallworth – and Andrew Regan and currently employs 16 people selling and renting homes in Wigan, Standish, Leyland, Chorley and Parbold as well as surrounding areas of West Lancashire.

Regan left the business seven years ago after which long-standing employees Andrew Herterich and Joel Edgerton took a small ownership share.

The pair have now bought the business off Hall via a management buyout enabled by a ‘six figure’ loan provided by NPIF II – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).

The money is being used to both buy the business and invest in its expansion and development.

The opportunity to be the captains of our own ship.

Herterich says: “Taking ownership of the business was a natural progression for Joel and I, giving us the opportunity to be the captains of our own ship.

“Regan & Hallworth is a leading independent estate and lettings agency that has achieved considerable success. We’re now focused on maintaining this success and continuing to work hard to grow the business. Without the support from Steve Molyneux at FW Capital this deal wouldn’t have happened. Steve was brilliant, he was on hand to talk to us on a daily basis to ensure the smooth completion.”

Market leader

Steve Molyneux, Senior Investment Executive at FW Capital says: “Regan & Hallworth is a very well-established business that is a market leader in its field locally.

“We’re excited to back a highly experienced and ambitious management team and look forward to supporting Andrew and Joel’s growth journey moving forward. The MBO is an exciting step forward for the business and the NPIF II investment has assisted this as well as the provision of working capital to support continued growth.

“Supporting North West businesses to realise their ambitions and drive forward business success is exactly what the NPIF II funding has been created for.”

The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II covers the North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The purpose of the fund is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses.