A big estate agency in London has sold its established surveying business for an undisclosed sum, it has been revealed.

Castles, which has 17 branches across North London, has done the deal with Epsom-based Novello Chartered Surveyors, which has offices covering London, Yorkshire and the Home Counties.

Castles Surveyors, which has been in business for 30 years and until now had been based in Enfield, has a strong reputation for its expertise in valuations, surveys and lease extensions. Until now it was part of Castles Group Ltd, which also owns the Castles estate agency. The surveying team led by Daniel Summers will now join Novello’s head office operation although it is understood that the vast majority already work from home.

The Castles empire was established by 66-year-old Peter Gleeson (main image, right) when he opened his first estate agency branch in Enfield during 1981 alongside former Managing Director David Edgar, who left the business in 2022.

They established the surveying arm in 1993 and it  has since become one of the leading RICS firms in North London and beyond.

Novello was founded by Jack Pye and James Brook (main image, left) in 2019 and has become one of the fastest-growing surveying firms in London and the Home Counties, a position its latest acquisition will accelerate.

Growth

“We will continue trading as Castles for the foreseeable, but intend to bring this in under the Novello brand in the future,” Brook tells The Neg. “And we continue to look for other surveying acquisitions as part of our growth strategy following our successful organic growth since 2019.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Castles Surveyors team into Novello. Their long-standing presence in North London and their expertise in specialist valuations are the perfect fit for our vision.

“Together, we’re not only broadening our services, but also bringing out people-first ethos to new areas. We’re building relationships, delivering outstanding service and pushing the boundaries of what surveying firms can achieve.”

High court

Some older agents will remember Gleeson for a landmark case he won in 1996. Castles estate agency had marketed a property a few years before with a garden building which its staff assumed had been given planning permission but, after the sale went though, proved to be otherwise.

The case made it to the High Court largely because Castles’ marketing materials were claimed to have been in contravention of the Property Misdescriptions Act. Gleeson argued that agents could not check every part of a property’s ownership details and won.