Second Buy Out takes Belvoir to over 200 Offices
Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir’s Director of Commercial and Franchising said, when the acquisition of Newton Fallowell was announced “This really is a golden strategic opportunity for Belvoir as Newton Fallowell is a highly successful and well-established estate and lettings agency, which has its head office in Grantham, plus a further 30 franchised offices in various locations around the UK and a track record for excellent growth. These additional offices will bring the total in the Belvoir network to 193, which will put Belvoir firmly into the top five largest lettings and estate agency chains in the country.
“When Belvoir floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 we made a clear promise to our network and our investors that we would reach 200 offices before the end of 2016. With further acquisitions in the pipeline, this puts us well ahead of our target.
“The opportunity for Belvoir to acquire Newton Fallowell represented a clear strategic fit with our acquisition policy, and there are obvious complementary strengths in lettings and estate agency. The acquisition also demonstrates Belvoir’s commitment to significantly increasing its market presence and continuing to develop the network with multi-brand franchises.
“I am delighted to confirm that Mark Newton, Chief Executive of Newton Fallowell, who founded the company in 1999, has kindly agreed to stay on in his role for the next two years, and possibly beyond, as will Finance Director Andrew Derry and Marketing and IT Director David Newton.
Speaking of the acquisition, founder Mark Newton said: “I am delighted, as Newton Fallowell and Belvoir both have their Central Offices in Grantham, and have both been in business for a similar number of years, growing incrementally alongside each other, and in many ways I would say that this is a business match that was made in heaven.
“I will be remaining with the business, which will continue to be run by the same people in a similar manner, but will have the added strength and support of Belvoir as its parent company. This will have a very positive impact on our franchise owners who can only benefit from being part of such a large and successful company. Similarly, our strength and expertise in estate agency, which has been carefully developed over many years, can only help to enhance brand Belvoir, so this is a very exciting milestone for the business.”
Belvoir, in October was then delighted to announce the acquisition of Goodchilds Estate Agents and Lettings Ltd. The West Midland based company, founded by David Warke in 2004, will now become part of the Newton Fallowell group. Both companies will operate under the umbrella of parent company Belvoir Lettings plc.
“I am delighted for Belvoir to have acquired Goodchilds, which is a well-established, award-winning network with 16 property sales and lettings branches located across the West Midlands,” says Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir’s Director of Commercial and Franchising.
“The acquisition represents a clear strategic fit with our acquisition strategy of building a network based on multi-brand franchises, which will increase market share and geographic coverage. It is also an exciting milestone in Belvoir’s growth, as it takes the number of offices in the network to 211 and we are now managing over 35,000 properties.
“When Belvoir floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 we made a clear promise to our network and our investors that we would reach 200 offices before the end of 2016. The acquisition of Goodchilds just two months after the acquisition of Newton Fallowell now puts us well ahead of this target and with further acquisitions in the pipeline, we are looking forward to breaking new barriers in the future.”
Earlier in 2015 Belvoir was voted best franchise in the sector for the fifth year at the Sunday Times’ Lettings Agency of the Year Awards. David Warke, founder of Goodchilds, says this success was a key factor in helping him decide to choose to sell his business to Belvoir.
“Within the industry I had always watched Belvoir, as they are clearly one of the most successful franchisors around,” says David. “Belvoir has a strong lettings background and seemed like a good fit with our own brand. I also thought the cultural fit was right, I like their ethics and the people I met and I am confident that Belvoir will look after and support our franchisees.
