Derby sales and lettings business on the acquisition trail

A Derby-based estate agency says it is looking to buy businesses after recording a record first quarter of 2018.

Birchover Sales and Lettings is led by husband and wife team Carl and Lisa Bridge who say they have exciting plans for the future following a stellar start to the year.

Boosted by being the sole Nottingham agent selling apartments at student development The Laceworks, Birchover has already generated more revenues in 2018 than in the whole of 2017.

Other significant sales include a large land deal in Birmingham and numerous other house sales in Derby.

Carl Bridge said: “All 222 apartments at The Laceworks sold within 10 weeks and on one January day alone, we achieved revenues equivalent to 80% of our 2017 total revenues. This has made other developers sit up and notice. We are in advanced talks with developers in Derby, Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester and East Anglia to represent them on similar deals. Our purchasers for The Laceworks were from as far away as Singapore and Brazil, so we now have an active bank of investors looking for similar deals and this appeals to the new developers we are in discussions with.”

He added: “We have been in serious negotiations with three separate lettings agencies in the East Midlands, but not quite managed to agree a deal yet. We are actively looking to purchase letting agencies – especially in Derby and Nottingham – and this is a core part of our growth strategy. We have the funds, infrastructure and team ready and able to integrate another business into our own and have made significant upgrades to our software in readiness for the rapid expansion.”

Lisa Bridge said that any newly-acquired business must have the same ethos and quality standards as Birchover. “We work very hard to ensure that all our lettings properties are lovely homes which people want to live in and which landlords are proud to own,” she said.

“Our new head of property now accompanies the marketing team when assessing all new properties. We will only take them onto our books if they are in pristine condition or if the landlord commits to ensuring any improvements are made prior to us marketing the home. The lettings agencies we have been talking to do share this passion too, which is the only reason that we entered into discussion with them.”

Birchover already works with regional house builder Keepmoat across numerous sites in the Midlands and is also marketing the Oaklands development with Meadowview Homes on Duffield Road in Derby. Also on Duffield Road, Birchover is the sole agent marketing the forthcoming Kings Crescent development of 40+ apartments and two town houses, whilst the firm is the sole letting agent marketing 40 apartments at Birchover House. In Manchester, Birchover is selling apartments in four stunning city centre apartment blocks called Axis, Downtown, Oxygen Tower and Manhattan.

Carl Bridge said: “Lisa and I always worked brilliantly together when we started our journey at Birchover back in 2009. Lisa returning full-time to the business at the start of February has had a phenomenal instant impact. Our operations and customer service side is running so much more smoothly and that has given me the confidence to go and win such big deals. We have a solid platform for growth and a highly-motivated team ready to take on the new opportunities coming our way.”