Press release: Lomond seals major Midlands expansion deal as ‘unparalleled’ growth journey hits 50 acquisition milestone in just three years
LOMOND has strengthened our foothold in one of our fast-growing heartlands by sealing another major acquisition – the 50th since launching just three years ago.
Through our John Shepherd brand, whose offices span the West and East Midlands, we have secured all three high street estate and lettings agency branches of property specialist Centrick.
The deal sees a rental portfolio of 1,300 homes, a strong sales pipeline, a team of over 25 staff, and offices in Solihull and Nottingham, all transfer to John Shepherd. The Birmingham high street estate and lettings agency team, one of the biggest agency operations in the city, will move from Centrick’s Birmingham HQ in the city to John Shepherd’s established high street operation just a few doors away on Colmore Row.
Lomond CEO, Ed Phillips, said: “This strategic acquisition further consolidates our position as an ever-expanding and major player in the UK property industry.
“Delivering 50 acquisitions in just three years has been a real team effort that is unparalleled in our sector – it represents one deal every three weeks, and has grown our lettings portfolio to around 43,000.
“It’s a milestone of which the whole Lomond family can be proud, and I’d like to thank and pay tribute to all our talented people who have helped us reach it in such a smooth and successful way.”
He added: “With other acquisitions in the pipeline, and new opportunities being actively explored, we look forward to accelerating our growth journey throughout 2024.
“We know that this can be best achieved by recruiting, retaining and rewarding a best-in-class team of people and 2024 will also be hallmarked by the development of more initiatives to develop their skillsets and potential, and build on our accreditation of being A Great Place To Work.”
Richard Crathorne, CEO of John Shepherd, said this acquisition has propelled their lettings portfolio across the West and East Midlands past 7,000 managed units.
“This deal represents the perfect geographical and strategic fit, as the footprint of the Centrick’s high street portfolio mirrors our own, covering all the bullseye locations across the West and East Midlands.
“As part of this acquisition, we’ll also be welcoming senior members from Centrick’s award-winning high street agencies to our business to ensure continuity of service to our new customers.
“They include their three branch managers - Mike Nabarro from Birmingham, Callum Rowlands from Nottingham, and Gary Sammons from Solihull - along with the agency lettings leadership team of Afreen Iqbal and Stuart MacDiarmid.
“We are delighted to welcome them, and their talented colleagues, to our John Shepherd family – a brand with strong local roots that has been at the forefront of the residential property marketplace in the Midlands for more than 30 years.
“The acquisition of Centrick’s high-quality property collection, as well as its first-class team of people, equips us with a strong platform on which to accelerate our growth, both in size and in reach, across this in-demand region.”
Following the deal, Centrick will continue to expand its industry-leading PRS Lettings & BTR Asset Management operation and award-winning Building & Estate Management services from its HQ in central Birmingham, together with its new homes and offshore investment sales arms.