acquisition
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Agencies & People
Lomond Capital acquires agency
Lomond Capital has continued to expand with the acquisition of John Shepherd estate agents in Birmingham taking its portfolio in the city to in excess of £250 million. The Edinburgh-based firm will now merge John Shepherd estate agency with Birmingham-based Marwood Homes and John Shepherd Lettings, which are also owned by Lomond Capital. The company forecast that the enlarged business will now manage more than £250 million worth of properties for private landlords and sell in excess of £200 million worth of property annually. Stuart Pender (left), Chief Executive of Lomond Capital, said, “The merger of John Shepherd Estate Agents with our existing businesses allows us to create a full service proposition for our clients under the leading estate agents brand in the region.” Lomond Capital, which currently has businesses in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester, is now seeking to make further acquisitions across both lettings and estate agents in Birmingham as well as part parts of the UK. The company is currently in negotiations with estate agents and lettings businesses in Bristol, Brighton, Reading, Oxford and Cardiff. “This is the first in a number of larger acquisitions planned in the south of England,” Pender added. “Our aim is to…
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Movers & Shakers
Sharman Quinney acquires Gilbert & Thomas
Sharman Quinney has acquired Gilbert & Thomas Estate Agents, taking its network to 20 branches across Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and now Rutland. Gilbert & Thomas covers Rutland and surrounding areas from its offices in Oakham and Uppingham. Established in 1998, Gilbert & Thomas, will continue to trade under the brand with MD Vaughan Gilbert remaining in charge of operations. Sharman Quinney MD Mike Sharman says, “We are delighted to welcome such a strong and well respected business. We look forward to working with Vaughan and his team.” Vaughan added, “The acquisition by Sharman Quinney represents an exciting opportunity for us to continue to provide the high level of personal service the homeowners of Rutland and the surrounding area have become accustomed to.”
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Agencies & People
Sharman Quinney acquires Gilbert & Thomas
Sharman Quinney sales and letting agency, part of the Connells Group, has completed the acquisition of Gilbert & Thomas Estate Agents. This latest addition means that Sharman Quinney’s network totals 20 branches across Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and now Rutland, and extends its services to even more customers. Gilbert & Thomas, established in 1998, is a local, independently run estate agents covering the county of Rutland and surrounding areas from its offices in Oakham and Uppingham. The company is recognised as one of Rutland’s leading estate agents with more than 25 years local experience. Gilbert & Thomas will continue to trade under its existing brand with Founder and Managing Director Vaughan Gilbert remaining in charge of operations. Gilbert commented, “The acquisition by Sharman Quinney represents an exciting opportunity for myself and the team who will continue to provide the high level of personal service the homeowners of Rutland and the surrounding area have become accustomed to. The acquisition will enable us to offer additional services to the people of Rutland who have supported the Gilbert & Thomas brand, helping to make it the success it has been over the last seventeen years and for many years to come.” Sharman Quinney (left)…
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Agencies & People
Connells Group hatches online plan
The national estate agency group Connells has jumped into the online agency world with the acquisition of Hatched.co.uk. Hatched – one of the original pioneers of the online estate agency model – is, says Connells, aligned with its “ambitious growth strategy to extend its presence in the UK property market.” This purchase follows the recent acquisition of 18 branch Gascoigne Halman with offices in Cheshire and south Manchester. While other corporate agencies have made noises about online agency acquisitions, this is the first major deal. Connells say that Hatched will ‘bring complementary capabilities including first-hand knowledge and experience of this developing sector.” It will also expand Connells into towns and cities not currently covered by its existing estate agency operation. Hatched will continue to trade under its existing brand with founder and managing director Adam Day remaining in charge of operations. “We are pleased to welcome into the Group such an innovative business and well established player in the online space,” says Connells Group CEO, David Livesey (left). “The acquisition of Hatched represents a natural progression towards further enhancing our online proposition and wholly complements our strategy to expand our high street footprint. We are entirely committed to our branch…
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Agencies & People
Countrywide acquires three more agents
Countrywide, the UK’s largest integrated property services group, has significantly increased its regional footprint in Merseyside and South Wales by acquiring three major new independent estate agents. The company has completed the acquisitions of Sutton Kersh and Clive Watkin estate agents in Liverpool, along with John Francis in South Wales. The three deals adds over 300 employees and 39 branch locations to Countrywide’s new retail business unit, which brings together the sales and lettings businesses to create a seamless customer-facing experience. Clive Watkin Partnership operates a network of 15 estate agency and letting branches across Liverpool and the Wirral, as well as a land and new homes operation, while Sutton Kersh, established in 1976, now has six multi-discipline branches across Liverpool, providing a wide range of services covering residential sales, lettings and property management, commercial property, auctions, mortgages, surveys, valuations, and energy performance assessments. John Francis operates a 21 branch network covering Swansea and South Wales, which serves all aspects of the property market, including services in residential sales and lettings, commercial sales, auctions, new homes and financial services. “We are delighted and excited to have joined the UK’s largest property services group. John Francis is a strong brand and…
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Agencies & People
Connells Group acquires Gascoigne Halman
Connells Group has agreed a deal to buy Gascoigne Halman, taking its high street network to nearly 540 branches across the UK. Connells’ decision to purchase Gascoigne Halman, which has 18 branches operating across south Manchester, north east Cheshire and the High Peak, will extend its geographical reach and fits in with the firm’s expansion strategy, and follows on from the acquisition earlier this year of Peter Alan, Adrian Cole & Partners, Cartwrights, Harrisons, Platinum lettings, Selective Lets, among a host of other purchases. Gascoigne Halman will continue to trade under its existing brand with Founder and Managing Director John Halman remaining at its helm. David Plumtree (left), Connells Group Estate Agency Chief Executive, commented, “We are delighted to welcome such a strong and high quality business as Gascoigne Halman to the Connells Group. This acquisition is a good strategic fit for our expansion plans and perfectly complements our branch network. It brings depth and further quality to our existing portfolio and gives us a presence in this region for the first time.” “There are strong synergies between the Connells Group and Gascoigne Halman and we are looking forward to working with John and his team,” he added. Partnering with…
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Agencies & People
Belvoir acquires Goodchilds
Belvoir has completed the acquisition of West Midlands based Goodchilds Estate Agents and Lettings Ltd, taking the number of offices in its network to 211. Founded by David Warke in 2004, Goodchilds, which has 16 property sales and lettings branches located across the West Midlands, will now become part of Belvoir-owned Newton Fallowell group, under the leadership of Chief Executive, Mark Newton. Mark Newton said, “I am really looking forward to Goodchilds coming on board, and welcoming a further 16 offices to the Newton Fallowell network, which will bring the total to 46. “The balance of lettings and property sales within the Goodchilds network is currently 70 per cent lettings and 30 per cent estate agency. Newton Fallowell’s strength and expertise in estate agency will help to enhance the sales side of the business and the added support of Belvoir as a parent company will greatly benefit all aspects of business growth.” Aside from significantly increase the volume of offices in Belvoir’s network, the acquisition of Goodchilds has also boosted the number of properties managed by the firm to 35,000. “The acquisition represents a clear strategic fit with our acquisition strategy of building a network based on multi-brand franchises, which…
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Agencies & People
Romans acquires Campsie
Romans Group completed yet another acquisition last week after it finalised a deal to merge with Campsie’s sales and letting branches. Established for over 40 years, Campsie, which covers Windsor, Staines-upon-Thames and West Drayton, will be fully-incorporated into the Romans network from Monday 5thOctober, with each of the firm’s three branches set to be upgraded to the familiar and customer focused offices seen across the Romans Group. Romans’ decision to buy Campsie fits in with the firm’s expansion strategy, and follows on from the acquisition earlier this year of Meldrum Salter Edgley in Guildford, James Griffin in Bracknell, SherriffMountford in Burnham and Atlantis in Reading. Expanding its portfolio of estate and letting agencies has been high on the agenda for the Romans Group with a number of acquisitions already under its belt since 2013. Members of staff at Campsie, part of the Orchard & Shipman Group, will be offered professional and expert advice on sales, lettings, and surveying. Shane Spiers, Chief Executive of Orchard & Shipman Group, commented, “Campsie has been established for over 40 years, so when the time came to sell it was vital we found an agency with the same core values and high standards our customers…
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Agencies & People
Leaders continues to grow
Leaders, one of the UK’s largest estate and letting agents, has further increased its regional footprint by completing the acquisition of Simply Lets Ltd in Worcester and Bromsgrove last week – keeping the firm’s expansion plans on course. Leaders acquired Simply Lets after its previous owner Jon Sugden decided to sell his business and exit the letting industry altogether in order to pursue other interests. Sugden (left) said, “After deciding to sell the company, it was important to me to leave my landlords, tenants and staff in the safest possible hands. That’s why I chose to sell Simply Lets to Leaders, which has the expertise, experience and resources required to deliver a great service.” This fresh acquisition by Leaders follows on from the purchase of Andrews Snape & Co in Bournemouth and Cullen Homes in Manchester last month. Matthew Light (right), Acquisitions Director at Leaders, said, “We are delighted to welcome all our new customers and employees who have transferred from Simply Lets, Andrews Snape & Co and Cullen Homes. “These acquisitions have added new branches in key locations in which we previously had no presence, as well allowing us to grow our portfolio in some of our existing markets…
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Agencies & People
Belvoir announces major acquisition
Belvoir has added a further 31 offices to its network by acquiring Newton Fallowell in the East Midlands. The deal to buy Newton Fallowell, one of the largest estate agents in the East Midlands, is subject to completion later this month but does look set to go-ahead. Dorian Gonsalves (left of picture), Belvoir’s Director of Commercial and Franchising, described the pending acquisition of Newton Fallowell, which has its head office in Grantham, plus a further 30 franchised offices in various locations around the UK, as a “golden strategic opportunity” for his company. The additional Newton Fallowell offices will bring the total in the Belvoir network to 193, which will put Belvoir firmly into the top five largest lettings and estate agency chains in the country, according to Gonsalves. He commented, “When Belvoir floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 we made a clear promise to our network and our investors that we would reach 200 offices before the end of 2016. With further acquisitions in the pipeline, this puts us well ahead of our target. “The opportunity for Belvoir to acquire Newton Fallowell represented a clear strategic fit with our acquisition policy, and there are obvious complementary strengths in…
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