Another independent agency’s lettings book snapped up by franchise giant

A branch of Martin & Co has completed its second independent lettings book acquisition in 18 months.

Martin & Co Chelmsford, part of The Property Franchise Group, has added the managed properties of local agency Property Street to its portfolio.

This deal comes after branch owner Stephen Frost led the purchase of another local independent, Owen Lyons, in 2019. 

Frost has owned Martin & Co Chelmsford for 12 years; prior to that he was a regional operations director at Martin & Co.

He says: “Property Street has been part of Chelmsford since 2006 and is a well-respected business like our own, so we’ll be making sure their landlords enjoy a smooth transition over to Martin & Co and that they benefit from our brilliant services moving forward.” 

Last week TPFG at a national level announced it was on the verge of acquiring the Hunters franchise network. Shareholder approval from both companies appears to be a formality as the boards of both are in agreement on the deal.

The enlarged group will benefit from increased scale with more than 400 physical branches, managing in excess of 70,000 tenanted properties managed and selling more than 20,000 properties per year. TPFG will continue operating through its existing five brands - one of them being Martin & Co - plus the new recruit Hunters.

TPFG chief executive Gareth Samples says of this latest local deal: “Stephen and the team in Chelmsford continue to do an amazing job and this second acquisition is a well-deserved coup for them.

“The Chelmsford branch has an incredible reputation for strong customer service and supreme knowledge of the local property market, so I know Property Street’s landlords will benefit hugely from being part of Martin & Co.”