FACT FILE
Adam Walker has been writing about the property market for many years. His articles have appeared in the Sunday Times and the Negotiator Magazine. He also once served a stint as the GMTV property expert and has published 6 books on a wide range of property related topics.
Dwelly swoops for Nottingham agency
Dwelly, one of the UK’s leading lettings acquisition and success planning experts, has acquired lettings business, HC Lettings, the Nottingham-based agency formerly known as HoldenCopley. The deal adds a further 850 fully managed properties to Dwelly’s growing portfolio. HC Lettings was founded out of HoldenCopley and today operates as its dedicated lettings arm. While HC…
How the Government’s Tax Grab is Causing Ordinary People to Flee the UK
Hardly a week goes by without the press reporting on yet another poor decision by our government. We all feel cross about these things for a few minutes but I guess it is human nature not to think about them properly until they affect us personally. This happened to me last week. One of our…
Case History
People often ask me what we do to earn our fee. So here is a case history based on a real sale. A client approached me to sell their business. They had previously spoken to their accountants who advised them to try to do a management buyout. The accountants valued the business at £2.5 million…
Be careful who you trust to sell your letting agency
SELLING YOUR LETTING AGENCY ? BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TRUST. Choosing the right broker will have a huge impact on the price that you achieve for your letting agency. Over the last few years, we have seen a number of new competitors spring up but we have retained our position as the market leader in the…
Is it time to retire – or is there a better way to carry on?
Is it time to sell up and buy that yacht? Or is there a way to carry on doing what you’re best at and what you love? Adam Walker has some advice. I had a big birthday recently and as a consequence people have started to ask me when I am going to retire. The…
Death by a thousand cuts – legislation is killing the letting agent
There is an unforeseen cumulative effect of the raft of new legislation, says Adam Walker, and it is pushing the independent out of the PRS. We have completed a much higher than usual number of business sales this month due to people rushing to beat the latest tax increase in the Spring Budget. However there…
LRG snaps up ‘tiny office’ but big patch NW agency
LRG has acquired another independent lettings agency as its expansion plans continue apace. The latest acquisition is Easthams, based in Preston, Lancashire, which operates out of a tiny office in the city, but covers a large area including the Fylde Coast and South Ribble area. Easthams was first established in 1984 by Sam Eastham, the…
Connells acquires 750-strong lettings book and five branches
Connells, the UK’s largest estate agency group, has grown even larger following its latest acquisition, this time of five-branch SW London estate agency Aspire. The industry giant says the purchase of the 22-year old firm gives it further coverage via Aspire’s branches in Battersea, Balham, Fulham South, Fulham Central, and Clapham but also, more importantly,…
London estate agency in ‘acquisition mode’ as firm lines up deals
With a career in the UK property market spanning more than 30 years, Julie Drake is now a specialist in the sale of estate agencies. Formerly associate director at Savills, where she headed up their new homes team in the South West until 2011, Drake is currently a business sales broker and management consultant at…
Lomond completes the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions in London
Lomond, one of the UK’s fastest growing estate agencies, has expanded its presence in London with the acquisition of Draker, which specialises in and around the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, as well as Hammersmith and Fulham. Launched 15 years ago by Tim Hassell, previously of Foxtons, Draker has three offices and manages a…