A young and brand-led estate agency in Wales founded by a well-known rugby player has bought a second property firm taking its branch count to six, or twice its geographical footprint since launching in 2024.

Blackbear has bought three-branch Chris Davies Estate Agents (pictured) which operates in the Vale of Glamorgan with offices in Barry, Rhoose and Llantwit Major. These will move over to the Blackbear brand during the next six months, The Neg has been told.

After cold-starting its first Blackbear office in Haverfordwest just under two years ago, it then opened a branch covering Swansea and Pembrokeshire and more recently bought an estate agency in Tenby – Chandler Rogers.

Blackbear says its latest acquisition makes the firm a national player in Wales and that it has ambitions to expand into Cardiff soon and over the border to Bristol and eventually London.

Co-founder Gareth Davies is scrum-half for Llanelli-based Scarlets and also plays for Wales and is one of the leading Welsh try-scorers in rugby union’s history. He says: “We set out to build something different something people actually want to be part of.

“Blackbear is ambitious, modern and obsessed with standards, but it’s also grounded in Wales. This deal is a huge step towards building the biggest Welsh owned agency in the country.

“As I start to think about life after rugby, it’s incredibly exciting to be building something like this for the long term.

“I’m looking toward to getting even more involved in Blackbear, as well as the family business, Cawdor Cars.”

Defining moment

MD Jamie Barnett (main image): “This is a defining moment for Blackbear. Chris Davies Estate Agents is a brilliant business with strong local roots, an excellent reputation, and real scale.

“Bringing the Vale into the Blackbear family accelerates our vision dramatically and proves that our model works, not just aesthetically, but commercially.”