Agencies & People
News covering the businesses, activities, people and personalities in estate agency and letting agency and wider residential property industry.
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Connells Group acquires another lettings firm
Connells Group has successfully completed yet another lettings business acquisition – Selective Lets in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. The purchase of the independent family-run residential lettings and property management business follows on from the recently acquired Cartwrights lettings business in Stafford, continuing the Group’s ambitious acquisition drive. Selective Lets, which covers Dunstable, Houghton Regis, Luton and the surrounding areas, wasestablished in 1986 by Stuart Brown. But with the company’s Founder choosing to retire, Connells were presented with an opportunity to acquire the lettings business which will be transferred into the Dunstable branch. Connells will also retain one of Selective Let’s key members of staff – Tom Spencer Lewis – who, with a wealth of experience, will assist with managing the transfer of the business and continue to offer consistency to landlords and tenants. Stuart Brown, the retiring owner of Selective Lets, commented, “After much discussion and deliberation, I have decided that the best way forward is for our managed property portfolio to be taken over by Connells. With around 170 branches throughout the UK, Connells has the specialist resources and expertise that will be essential for landlords over the coming months and years. After much discussion with their management team, I am…
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Belvoir announces major acquisition
Belvoir has added a further 31 offices to its network by acquiring Newton Fallowell in the East Midlands. The deal to buy Newton Fallowell, one of the largest estate agents in the East Midlands, is subject to completion later this month but does look set to go-ahead. Dorian Gonsalves (left of picture), Belvoir’s Director of Commercial and Franchising, described the pending acquisition of Newton Fallowell, which has its head office in Grantham, plus a further 30 franchised offices in various locations around the UK, as a “golden strategic opportunity” for his company. The additional Newton Fallowell offices will bring the total in the Belvoir network to 193, which will put Belvoir firmly into the top five largest lettings and estate agency chains in the country, according to Gonsalves. He commented, “When Belvoir floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 we made a clear promise to our network and our investors that we would reach 200 offices before the end of 2016. With further acquisitions in the pipeline, this puts us well ahead of our target. “The opportunity for Belvoir to acquire Newton Fallowell represented a clear strategic fit with our acquisition policy, and there are obvious complementary strengths in…
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Exposed agents to be investigated
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has condemned the estate agents exposed in a Channel 4 documentary last week for offering to help foreign criminals launder money through high-end properties in London. Five London based estate agents were named by the Russian anti-corruption campaigner, Roman Borisovich, and Ukrainian investigative reporter, Natalia Sedletskan, posing as Boris and his girlfriend. The couple viewed five properties in the capital where agents stood to earn in the region of a reported £65,000 to £315,000 in commissions. Mark Hayward, Managing Director of National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), said that the exposed agents had tarnished the reputation of the industry in the public eye and has now launched an investigation into the issue. Hayward (left) said, “We do not condone the behaviour of the agents in the documentary From Russia With Cash and it is regretful that a small number of negligent agents tarnish the reputation of the industry as a whole. All agents should know that they have a responsibility to report any potential money laundering activities to the National Crime Agency and failure to do so, or to enable such an action, is a criminal act. “We take a dim view…
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The Negotiator Awards – two weeks left to enter!
You still have time to enter the UK’s most prestigious property awards. Due to huge demand from busy agents, we have extended the deadline until 31 July 2015 – so you have time to prepare your award-winning entry! Download the entry form and guidance by CLICKING HERE and learn more about the awards at www.thenegotiatorawards.co.uk Remember – The Negotiator Awards are free to enter. There are Regional categories as well as national, so you can prove you are the best in your area. Entering is very straightforward; you simply complete a short form and prepare a supporting statement telling the judges why your company deserves an award – full details and advice on preparing your submission are on our website www.thenegotiatorawards.co.uk. That’s it! There is no formality, no risk, no cost! The Negotiator Awards is absolutely free to enter – it is the only property awards event that carries no entry fee – another scheme charges £230 per office for the first category entered, £115 for the second and third categories entered – that’s £460 to pay before you even know if you are shortlisted. We don’t think that is fair, so we continue to follow our nine-year tradition –…
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BUY BUY BUY!!! Leaders, Romans and Connells complete acquisitions
Leaders has acquired Home Counties estate agency Aston Mead in a deal which brings it additional branches in two new areas, taking it past the 100 branch milestone. Aston Mead trades from Epsom, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and Woking where Leaders will be merging the business with its existing, well established branches; as well as from Sunningdale and Chertsey which are new areas for Leaders and will take the firm to just over 100 branches. Leaders passed another significant milestone recently when it welcomed its 1000th member of staff following the acquisition of IMS Letting in Derby in June. Matthew Light (left of the main picture), Leaders’ former finance director who recently took up the new role of acquisitions director, said, “We extend a very warm welcome to all our new staff and clients who join us from Aston Mead, and a special welcome to our new team in Sunningdale, which is our 100th branch.The Romans Group has acquired Meldrum Salter Edgley in Guildford and Connells Group has snapped up another lettings business a – Cartwrights in Stafford. Meanwhile, Romans’ decision to buy Meldrum Salter Edgley fits in with the firm’s expansion strategy, and follows on from the acquisition of James Griffin…
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Leaders completes major acquisition
Leaders has completed the purchase of Derby-based letting agent, IMS Lettings Limited, in its largest acquisition deal to date. The decision to buy IMS Lettings Limited follows Leaders’ recent purchase of Nottingham property sales and lettings firm PWR in April and significantly extends Leaders’ branch network in the East Midlands. IMS, which has been established for over 10 years, has offices in Derby, Duffield, Belper, Borrowash and Long Eaton. All the members of staff at IMS have joined Leaders under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, otherwise known as TUPE, whilst the firm’s vendor, Chris Griffin, has exited the company to focus on other business interests. Commenting on the sale of IMS, Griffin (right of the main pic) said, “I am confident that the business I have built over the last 10 years will have a secure and successful future as part of Leaders. In choosing a company to sell to it was crucial to me that my clients and staff would be well looked after and that the business would continue to be run in line with the high standards I have set and maintained over the last decade. “I know that with Leaders there will…
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High street agents under threat from online firms
The online estate agent market is forecast to grow to 10 per cent of the overall sector by 2220, despite representing less than 2 per cent of the market today. At least, that is the bold prediction put forward by Will Clark (pictured), Managing Director at SellMyHome.co.uk, who firmly believes that many high street estate agents will need to consider changing their fee structures in order to remain competitive. He points to the fact that the rise of online estate agents offering to sell properties for as little as a few hundred pounds has significantly increased competition on the high street, making it harder for high street estate agents to justify what he describes as an “archaic percentage fee structure.” “It all comes down to pricing”, he said. “When you consider what high street estate agents charge for the services that they provide, it is mind-blowing.” The online estate agent is planning to raise £10 million over the next 12 to 18 months with a view to expanding the business and increasing its own market share. “So far we have used internal funding to give us an injection of cash to support the business. But while we do have aggressive…
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Hunters takes aim at London float
Hunters is preparing to float on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange to take advantage of the improving residential property market. The large estate agency firms, which has over 150 branches, the vast majority of which are franchised, has already appointed Numis Securities as Nominated Adviser and Broker with a view to start trading on AIM by the end of next week. Kevin Hollinrake (left), the Chairman of Hunters, who was recently elected as a Conservative MP, said, “Hunters is a highly ambitious company. Our success to date has been born out of our focus on providing our customers with an exceptional service combined with local market knowledge. The Group is excited about its next chapter as a public company. This status will help to further enhance the Hunters brand and provide access to capital to accelerate business growth.” Hunters last week welcomed Norfolk-based Kudos Residential to its fast growing network estate agents. All seven of Kudos Residential’s branches, located across the county, including the main towns and cities of Norwich and Great Yarmouth, have all been rebranded. Glynis Frew (right), Managing Director of Hunters Property Group, said, “This is another exciting milestone for Hunters. As we continue…
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Estate agents ‘failing to cater for disabled’
Many disabled people are being prevented from moving home and living independently because estate agents fail to understand their situation or provide important information about accessible property, it has been claimed. Property website TheHouseShop.com, which was previously known as the Little House Company, but rebranded after switching from a private property-only sales portal to one that now also incorporates estate agency listings, has accused agents of being unmindful of the practical issues around disabled living, leaving many people, such as those who are wheelchair-users, ‘struggling to find suitable property.’ Nick Marr (left) of The House Shop believes that estate agents are losing business to the private sales market because they typically lack the specialist or niche marketing capability to properly advertise accessible homes. He said, “Disabled homeowners are increasingly turning to direct sales or peer-to-peer selling to market their homes after failing to find suitable buyers through estate agents. Over the years we have had a number of disabled homeowners approach us after being advised by their agent to rip out or downplay accessible improvements so that their property appeals to the broadest possible market. For homeowners who have spent, in some cases, tens of thousands of pounds improving and…
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Don’t let property investments go to pot
Letting agents and property managers are being reminded to remain attentive when viewing or inspecting rental properties in order to weed out tenants that may be growing cannabis in properties belong to their clients, after a new report revealed that the number of cannabis seizures in rented homes soared by up to 195 per cent in 2014. New analysis from landlord insurer, Direct Line for Business, reveals that police seized 456,911 plants across the UK last year, reflecting a sharp rise in home-based cannabis cultivation. Police raids resulted in no fewer than 59,002 plants being seized in London, which was more than any other part of the country. Birmingham had the second worst record with West Midlands police confiscating 52,218 plants, while 33,547 plants were removed from homes in Greater Manchester. Although the overall volume of seizures fell by 10 per cent between 2013 and 2014, a third of police forces have seen an increase over the year, of 40 per cent on average. West Mercia in the Midlands leads the pack with a 195 per cent increase in confiscations, followed by Cambridgeshire at 110 per cent and then Wiltshire at 75 per cent. Direct Line for Business is now…
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