Estate agent sells Burton office

Estate agent Belvoir Lettings has made another step towards becoming an entirely-franchised business with the sale of its Burton-upon-Trent office.

The property group has 302 offices across the country and after this deal has just five owned directly.

The AIM-listed business intends to retain its two corporate Belvoir and Newton Fallowell offices in Grantham for “system development purposes” and plans to complete a further disposal next month.

Today’s announcement sees the franchisee which operates in Hinkley, Nuneaton and Tamworth take over the Burton-upon-Trent office.

Mike Goddard, chairman and chief executive of Belvoir, said: “Our franchisees have fantastic local knowledge and the drive and determination to succeed, and we are pleased to be transferring ownership of the Belvoir Burton office to one of our ambitious franchisees.”

Belvoir believes franchisee ownership will bring “fresh impetus to its corporate owned offices”. It plans to drive growth by supporting franchisee-led acquisitions and increasing the footprint of existing franchisees within their own territories.