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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Big boost for OnTheMarket
Nottingham Estate Agency and Harrison Murray Estate Agency have announced their membership of OnTheMarket.com. Both part of the Nottingham Building Society, the two brands have a total of 37 branches. They will now be advertising all of their properties for sale and to rent at OnTheMarket.com and Rightmove. With more than 25 years’ experience as independent estate agents, Nottingham Estate Agency and Harrison Murray Estate Agency are amongst the largest regional estate agencies with offices in nine counties. OnTheMarket.com announced on Wednesday, January 14th, 2016 that the level of overall support for the portal had risen beyond 6,500 estate and letting agent offices across the UK, which is an increase of more than 50 per cent since this time last year. The announcement comes eight weeks after OnTheMarket.com revealed support had exceeded 6,000 offices. The figure consists of contracted members and agents who have signed a Letter of Intent to join OnTheMarket.com when total support reaches 7,500 offices – which is OnTheMarket.com’s next major milestone. Su Snaith (left), Head of Estate Agency at the Nottingham Estate Agency and Harrison Murray Estate Agency, said, “The achievements of OnTheMarket.com over the last year have been impressive. It is already established as a…
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Purplebricks floats on AIM
Purplebricks, which allows homeowners to sell their properties for a flat fee from £665 plus VAT, floated on the AIM market last week at a value of £240.3 million, with shares initially trading at an opening price of 104.5p before dropping to 96.5p. The company, which launched in April 2014, is backed by some heavyweight investors, including prominent Fund Manager Neil Woodford, Paul Pindar (left), the retired Chief Executive of outsourcing group Capita, and Errol Damelin, the Founder of payday lender Wonga. Purplebricks, which has swiftly established itself as the number one online estate agency, prides itself on offering a cheaper service than traditional estate agents and currently lists in the region of 4,300 homes for sale, and said its market share among the top six online estate agents had grown to in excess of 60 per cent. Purplebricks charges a flat fee of £665 plus VAT for a sale in the UK, rising to £965 plus VAT in prime London post codes. There are some additional charges for a premium service. The funds raised from the float will allow Purplebricks to increase its presence across the UK, according to Chief Executive Michael Bruce. He said, “The funds raised will…
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Leaders moves into Warwickshire
Leaders has continued its expansion with the addition of two new branches in Leamington Spa and Kenilworth after completing the acquisition of Heritage Property, which traded from premises in the two Warwickshire towns. A total of 11 new businesses and 32 additional branches have been secured by the company over the course of 2015 – meaning the last 12 months have been its most active yet in the acquisitions market. The Leaders network now spans some 113 branches across the UK. This year’s acquisitions mean that Leaders now has a presence in 22 counties, having moved into Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire for the first time this year. The company now has in excess of 45,000 tenanted properties on its books and handles in the region of £28.5 million in rent every month. Matthew Light (left), Acquisitions Director at Leaders, said, “We have spent more than £25 million on acquiring new businesses this year, which has helped to take our branch network beyond 100 locations. “With so much experience in this area, more vendors are now viewing us as the perfect acquirer of their company when they decide to sell. We have shown we always deliver on our promises,…
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easyProperty secures Tosca backing
easyProperty, the online estate agent, has raised £25 million from its third round of funding from a London-based hedge fund and a consortium of angel investors, valuing the company at more than £100 million. The investment was secured within three weeks for exchange of just under 15 per cent equity in the business. Under the terms of the deal, the company will access £16 million immediately, with a further £9 million earmarked for future growth. The lead investor, Toscafund, a London-based hedge fund, has put forward £14 million in investment, with the additional £2 million being co-led by existing and new investors. “This new, very substantial investment from Toscafund is a real opportunity to keep expanding both in the sales and lettings markets in the UK and in pan-European property services, and a sure indication of how we plan to take the market share from traditional high street agencies, said CEO of easyProperty, Rob Ellice (left). Martin Hughes, from Toscafund, said: “easyProperty offers the brand, technology and management to enable a considerable saving to property transaction costs compared to the incumbents. The online process is an impressive disruptive approach to ease a much needed overcharged road block to the population…
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Recruitment firm to double in size
Deverell Smith, the specialist property recruitment consultancy, has announced plans to double in size over the next 12 months in response to soaring demand. From expansions and new start-ups to franchise roll-outs, the recent increase in housing market activity has led to a rise in the number of agencies looking to hire new members of staff to help deal with new business, and Deverell Smith has responded by announcing plans to recruit up to 70 new members of staff. Andrew Deverell-Smith (left), CEO, commented, “The market potential in property for recruitment is huge, we have expanded to provide recruitment services within every sector of the industry, and in some sectors, although we are market leaders, we really are still only scratching the surface.“By attracting the best talent in recruitment and knowledgeable property professionals to our company we plan to become the UK’s driving force in property recruitment.” Chris Long (right), Talent Development Director for Deverell Smith, has been tasked with recruiting and developing staff for the firm. Reflecting on the London-based company’s recruitment strategy, he said that it was important to not only attract but retain the best talent. He said, “Over the past twelve months we have carried out…
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Sharman Quinney acquires Gilbert & Thomas
Sharman Quinney sales and letting agency, part of the Connells Group, has completed the acquisition of Gilbert & Thomas Estate Agents. This latest addition means that Sharman Quinney’s network totals 20 branches across Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and now Rutland, and extends its services to even more customers. Gilbert & Thomas, established in 1998, is a local, independently run estate agents covering the county of Rutland and surrounding areas from its offices in Oakham and Uppingham. The company is recognised as one of Rutland’s leading estate agents with more than 25 years local experience. Gilbert & Thomas will continue to trade under its existing brand with Founder and Managing Director Vaughan Gilbert remaining in charge of operations. Gilbert commented, “The acquisition by Sharman Quinney represents an exciting opportunity for myself and the team who will continue to provide the high level of personal service the homeowners of Rutland and the surrounding area have become accustomed to. The acquisition will enable us to offer additional services to the people of Rutland who have supported the Gilbert & Thomas brand, helping to make it the success it has been over the last seventeen years and for many years to come.” Sharman Quinney (left)…
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Purplebricks float expected to value firm at £240m
It looks as though Christmas may come early for Purplebricks after it was announced that the firm’s float on the stock market this month could value the online estate agent at as much as £240 million. The company, which launched in April 2014, is backed by some heavyweight investors, including prominent Fund Manager Neil Woodford Paul Pindar, the retired Chief Executive of outsourcing group Capita, and Errol Damelin, the Founder of payday lender Wonga. Purplebricks, which has swiftly established itself as the number one online estate agency, has now raised £58 million from selling shares to institutional investors. The company is now expected to start trading on Aim, London’s junior market, on 17th December. The online estate agents prides itself on offering a cheaper service than traditional estate agents and currently lists in the region of 4,300 homes for sale, and said its market share among the top six online estate agents had grown to in excess of 60 per cent. Purplebricks charges a flat fee of £665 plus VAT for a sale in the UK, rising to £965 plus VAT in prime London postcodes. There are some additional charges for a premium service. It is understood that the online…
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Romans acquires Bramptons
Sales and lettings agency, Bramptons, has become the latest in a growing list of firms to merge with the Romans Group, it has been announced. Romans has acquired the Bramptons branches at Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, marking the Group’s seventh acquisition of 2015. All members of staff at Bramptons have joined Romans under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, otherwise known as TUPE, including the firm’s Director, Peter Scott. Commenting on the merger, Scott said, “The decision to sell to Romans was not one that was taken lightly; we are all extremely passionate about property and have thoroughly enjoyed working across South Buckinghamshire building Brampton’s reputation as a reliable and trusted estate and lettings agency. “Therefore, it was imperative that we sold to a company with the same passion as us, but who could also bring additional experience and investment to improve the service our clients, current and future, receive.” As part of the Romans Group, Bramptons will now be able to offer clients a property auctions sales room, surveying, conveyancing, planning expertise, and access to new homes developments, in addition to its existing sales and lettings service. Richard Frost (MARLA), Lettings Director at the…
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easyProperty seeks fresh funding
easyProperty, which last week became the first UK online estate agency to offer clients the ability to exchange legally binding property contracts online, is seeking £5 million to fund its expansion and additional investment in marketing. Talks with investors are believed to be at an advanced stage, with the company hoping to use part of the fresh funds to expand into the auctions and international markets. It is understood that the company also has an option to expand the business into six other European markets, including France, Germany, Greece and Italy, while easyGroup has an option to buy a further 3.4 per cent of the property company’s shares, as part of an exclusive 20-year agreement with easyProperty. News of easyProperty’s latest attempt to attract new investors comes just days before Purplebricks, a competitor online agent, unveils plans to list on the London Stock Exchange. In a statement, a spokeswoman for easyProperty said, “We can confirm easyProperty’s CEO Rob Ellice has been undertaking a planned third round of investment talks in line with commercial plans to fund the continued expansion of the growing online estate agency business.” Ellice (left), who claims that there has been “strong interest from major players”, reports…
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Connells Group hatches online plan
The national estate agency group Connells has jumped into the online agency world with the acquisition of Hatched.co.uk. Hatched – one of the original pioneers of the online estate agency model – is, says Connells, aligned with its “ambitious growth strategy to extend its presence in the UK property market.” This purchase follows the recent acquisition of 18 branch Gascoigne Halman with offices in Cheshire and south Manchester. While other corporate agencies have made noises about online agency acquisitions, this is the first major deal. Connells say that Hatched will ‘bring complementary capabilities including first-hand knowledge and experience of this developing sector.” It will also expand Connells into towns and cities not currently covered by its existing estate agency operation. Hatched will continue to trade under its existing brand with founder and managing director Adam Day remaining in charge of operations. “We are pleased to welcome into the Group such an innovative business and well established player in the online space,” says Connells Group CEO, David Livesey (left). “The acquisition of Hatched represents a natural progression towards further enhancing our online proposition and wholly complements our strategy to expand our high street footprint. We are entirely committed to our branch…
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