A franchisee within the 18-branch national Nicholas Humphreys chain has bought an estate agency, adding 350 rental properties to his portfolio.

Bhavik Patel, owner of the firm’s Southampton & Portsmouth franchise, has bought independent lettings agency Harker and Bullman in Wimborne via the chain’s Acquisition Programme.

This gives his business a new presence to the west of Southampton, inland from Bournemouth.

His deal is the first Nicholas Humphreys franchisee acquisition since the network became part of the Belvoir Group in April 2021.

Bhavik, whose business partners are Priti Kashyap and Tarun Patel, has been with Nicholas Humphreys for four years.

Before joining Nicholas Humphreys, Bhavik had a background in financial services.

“We originally launched Nicholas Humphreys Southampton as a cold start and then a year ago we bought the Portsmouth office as a resale,” says Bhavik.

“I can confirm that we have now successfully completed on the acquisition of Harker and Bullman in Wimborne following the retirement of the previous owner.”

Harker and Bullman has been going for nearly 30 years and the entire team (pictured) will be retained by Bhavik.

“I have already spent some weeks working with the existing team and have made very few changes apart from investing in new equipment and streamlining some processes to help make their lives easier,” he says.

“The branch manager, who has been with Harker and Bullman for six years, has had a lot of input into the changes we have made and will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the business.”

Pic (LtoR): Scott Blunden, Branch Manager; Tracy Brazil, Lettings Negotiator; Karen Morgan, Property Manager; Maggie Beal, Accounts Manager; Sue Pritchett, Senior Property Manager; Nikita Horton, Property Manager; Amanda Clifford, Senior Negotiator; Deborah Hodgkinson, Franchise Director; (Nicholas Humphreys group); Bhavik Patel.