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,…
Read MoreLondon 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…
Read MoreLomond 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…
Read MoreLeading prime independent lettings agency bought by Lomond
Draker, which was established by Tim Hassell 15 years ago, is the burgeoning lettings agency group’s latest London purchase. The bewildering pace of acquisitions by Lomond has continued this week following its purchase of up another independent lettings agency for an undisclosed sum. London agency Draker, which was founded in 2010, will now join Lomond’s set…
Read MoreDeath 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…
Read MoreWe Must Give Our Young People A Chance
A friend recently asked me to give his son some advice about a career in an estate agency. I did my best to help him but in the process of doing so I realised that it would be almost impossible for him to do what I did when I started. I took my first estate…
Read MoreBig agency sweeps up student firm despite renting reform threat
Lomond has acquired Nottingham-based firm Uni2 Rent, founded by Ed Henderson, proving renting reforms aren’t scaring off business buyers. Rapidly expanding estate agency group Lomond has made another acquisition with the purchase of a leading student accommodation provider. Uni2 Rent, based in Nottingham, has been bought by Lomond just two weeks after it acquired Kent agency Oakwood…
Read MoreThe End Of The Family Owned Business?
A great deal has been written about how changes to CGT in the last budget will prevent farmers from handing their farm down to their sons and daughter. However this change to tax laws will also prevent people from handing down other businesses to their families like estate agencies and this has hardly been covered…
Read MoreThe Impact Of N.I. On Letting Agents
There have been a lot of articles about the impact of the recent National Insurance increases on pubs, shops and the big supermarkets. However, no-one yet has a written about the impact on estate agents and letting agents and the impact will be quite serious. Let’s look at the impact on a small letting agent…
Read MoreA Truly Extraordinary Week for Mergers and Acquisitions
This has been a truly extraordinary week for mergers and acquisitions activity in the lettings sector. On Monday the private equity investor ICG spent £450 million buying Lomond Group. Just 28 hours later they bought the largest remaining independently owned letting agency in London, Kinleigh Folkard and Hayward. KFH is an extraordinary business. I undertook…
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