Independent agencies team up to limit damage from fees ban

Two independent agencies have joined forces in a bid to minimise damage caused by next year’s ban on fees levied on tenants. 

Let Leeds has acquired the portfolio of independent letting agency Lets Go Professional, which comprisesproperties across Leeds and Bradford. 

For the past eight years Yorkshire-based Lets Go Professional has been run by Jon Huby, who says: “Having decided to sell our managed portfolio to enable us to focus on other areas of our business, it was very important that the company we sold to held the same values and ethos as ourselves.”

“We have liaised with Let Leeds over the last few years and have always been impressed with their professionalism and friendly approach. We have seen them grow and develop their business and felt they offered a fantastic opportunity for our clients to enhance their property management experience”.

Let Leeds finalised the acquisition from initial meeting to completion within six weeks. 

The acquisition will see the portfolio managed by lettings specialist Cris Fowler and his team at the Pudsey Branch of Let Leeds located in West Leeds. 

Luke Gidney, managing director of Let Leeds, says:“Our plan to acquire three small letting agencies during 2018 will ensure that Let Leeds continues to expand its portfolio, and importantly, our key driver is to ensure that every single one of our fantastic employees is safe and secure in their role here at Let Leeds both now and far beyond implementation of the tenant fee Bill”

Let Leeds says it is in the process of connecting with other local firms in Leeds to explore a number of avenues including acquisitions, mergers and the transfer of managed portfolios from agents who wish to continue trading in sales but not in lettings.

“We all know the lettings industry is under threat from the government. Our lettings processes and turnover are at risk with, not only the certainty of the ban coming in 2019, but also the implementation of several pieces of new legislation that require us to spend even more time managing properties. In all of our time in the lettings market, have we ever seen such a huge threat to our industry?” asks Gidney.