Estate agent boosted with two acquisitions

Sep 25 2007 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A RAPIDLY expanding estate agency has announced plans to boost annual sales by a third by 2010 after buying two North-East firms.

Sarah Mains Property has bought Washington-based David Warden and Northumbrian Estates in Newcastle for an undisclosed fee, bringing the number of offices the company has across Tyne and Wear up to six.

The Newcastle business expects to see annual revenue jump from £6m to £8m by 2010 on the back of the acquisitions while it plans to take on over 30 new members of staff in the next three years.

The estate agent hopes to double annual sales to £1m within 18 months at the former David Warden office which is based in The Galleries shopping centre, Washington.

Meanwhile the company is currently moving its Whickham office from Front Street into a premises three times bigger on The Square.The move to the new site, which is being refurbished at a cost of £250,000, is expected to double annual sales through the firm’s Whickham arm to £900,000 within 18 months.

Company director Sarah Mains said she had no plans to make any further acquisitions this year although, in the current market climate, she could change her mind if a suitable opportunity became available.

She said the company had received at least an offer a month from fellow real estate agents looking to sell up amid the increased hype surrounding Home Information Packs (HIPs), which were introduced by the Government earlier this year.

She said: “Older estate agents are trying to sell their businesses because of the uncertainty surrounding HIPs.

“There’s been so much hype about HIPs and people who have been in the industry for a very long time have been looking to sell up. We’ve been preparing for the last two years and we’ve travelled up and down the country to visit every training event and seminar on the subject.”

Home Information Packs were introduced by the Government this year to speed up the house buying and selling process by giving consumers more of the information they need up front.

They are compiled by people selling a property and include energy performance certificates, evidence of title and details of leasehold.

According to some members of the real estate industry they are a hindrance in the selling process as they introduce more red tape.

Mrs Mains opened the first branch of her retail empire in Low Fell, Gateshead, in 2001 with her business partner Paul McKie.

The firm made its first sale within 24 hours of its launch and hasn’t looked back since, having grown exponentially over the last six years.

Mrs Mains said: “I took the gamble of selling my house to open the first branch in Low Fell with only four members of staff and within days we were taking 600 calls a day. Nine months later this had grown to 1,100 and today the branch employs 35 people.”