Dexters has revealed that it paid £3.21 million for rival Wetherell after purchasing the boutique agency’s entire share capital just before the pandemic struck.

Framed as a ‘lettings partnership’ at the time, Dexters’ latest accounts for the fiscal year ending September 2020 show that the deal was substantially more involved.

It paid the substantial sum for Wetherell & Co (Mayfair) Ltd which includes a £850,000 ‘earn out’ that is ‘contingent on the performance of the business over a five-year period’.

The purchase of the agency, which was founded in 1982 by one of London’s most respected and high-profile figures Peter Wetherell (above, left), brought in £900,000 in revenue for Dexters between December 2019 and September 2020 and £17,000 of profit, although these figures would have been higher if they were full-year data, Dexters points out.

Wetherell was just one of several acquisitions made Dexters, whose CEO Jeff Doble (above, right) gave The Negotiator an exclusive interview April.

This includes the lettings books of Harbour Estates for £120,000, a Japan UK Ltd for £300,000 and People in Property for £310,000.

Roy Brooks

Dexters also more recently bought famous London estate agency Roy Brooks for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition follows a partnership with investment fund Oakley Capital, which invested in the company last year to expand its network. Oakley Capital Investments, the listed trust that provides access to Oakley Capital’s private equity funds, announced that it had contributed an initial £13m towards the investment.

Dexters has also revealed that is turned over £108.7 million during its financial year up to September 2020 and a gross profit of £53.7 million. Its underlying profit was £23.1 million and profit before tax 17.3 million.