John Shepherd Estate Agents has cemented its position as the leading lettings agency in the Midlands with the second large-scale acquisition in a fortnight.

The estate agency has bought the lettings arm of Acres, a long-standing independent agency covering Sutton Coldfield and North Birmingham, adding a further 200 properties to its now nearly 3,000-strong rental portfolio.

This follows its recent purchase of estate agency Clothier & Day, a family-run independent based in Stafford, which added 130 properties.

The properties and two members of the Acres letting team inherited by John Shepherd – part of the Lomond Group of agencies across England and Scotland – will transfer into its established lettings division in north and central Birmingham.

The deal will see Acres continue its residential sales business from its four-branch network in Sutton Coldfield, Wylde Green, Four Oaks and Great Barr.

Concentrate

Acres founder Nigel Deekes (main pic, left) says: “The deal allows us to concentrate our skills on our sales office expansion plans with the focus solely on the buying and selling of property and working alongside Richard and his team in lettings to assist the growth of both businesses.”

Richard Crathorne (main pic, right), John Shepherd chief executive, adds: “We are now looking at other acquisition opportunities before the year-end to expand our lettings footprint, not just across our five-strong branch network but also into neighbouring in-demand districts.”

John Shepherd, which has branches in Birmingham, Solihull, Shirley, Harborne and Cannock, became part of the Lomond Group in 2016 when it was acquired by Lomond Capital. It joined forces with Linley & Simpson earlier this year to co-create a new national business.