MOVERS & SHAKERS
ACQUISITIONS
OPENINGS
LAUNCHES
MERGERS
CAmbridge ACquisition strengthens leAders’ position Leaders has purchased the residential lettings and property management portfolio of Ambassador Property Management in Cambridge. Leaders is relatively new to
Cambridge, where it has been trading as Accent Property Management since August 2010. Ambassador Property Management will also now trade under the Accent Property Management brand, making the firm one of the largest letting agents in Cambridge. The Ambassador portfolio and
The expanding team at
Leaders branch in Cambridge
mArtin & Co Ashford Are reAdy And rAring to go! Martin & Co has welcomed its latest franchisees to its Ashford office. Business partners Kevin Hall and Alison Donnelly haven taken over the business and are raring to go, Kevin says, “We are set to take property lettings in to the next level in Ashford, many agents fail to meet customers’ needs but both Alison and I have years of good customer service experience and we want to offer landlords and tenants an outstanding service which keeps them coming back”. Both Kevin and Alison have
managed teams in previous job roles, Alison said that “I am a natural motivator which enables me to lead and manage a business successfully; with Kevin’s expertise as well we have the foundations to run an extremely successful business.” Kevin has always had a burning desire for property; he’s renovated two properties and also built his current home from scratch with his wife Sarah. He said, “I’ve always wanted to get involved in the property market so when the opportunity to join Martin & Co came about I grabbed at it with two hands. Alison and I both regard the Martin & Co brand as the UK’s best so to say we are a part of this now is great.”
66 FEBRUARY 2011 PROPERTYdrum College & County smArten up
College and County is an Oxford based independent letting agency. With the business growing they needed more space and luckily the larger office next door became available just at the right moment. This made for a relatively simple move with the contents of the key cabinet proving to be the most time consuming in the move – even though they were the smallest items. (What is it about key cabinets? Can anyone invent a simple one that really works?) College and County also took the opportunity in moving office to update their
corporate identity. Mark Crampton Smith, Managing Partner said, “The new surroundings have given the staff a new lease of life – it’s wonderful to have enough space now for everyone now and room to
expand the business too”.
‘It’s wonderful to have enough space now for everyone.’
staff have joined the Accent Property Management team and soon they will all be moving to newly refurbished premises. Leaders has followed a strategy of growth by acquisition for some time, which it has achieved at a rapid pace. Since 2005, the firm has bought and integrated more than 30 businesses, branches or portfolios.
Ambitions plAns in brum Now in its fourth year in business, a firm of lettings agents in Birmingham has announced ambitious plans for the future. Sutton Coldfield-based Williams & Young Lettings plans to open additional offices across Birmingham and the West Midlands, and is considering branching out into full estate agency. The firm was incorporated
by Neil Young, Amy Williams and Emma Williams in November 2007, who joined forces to pool their shared and varied experience across the property sector into a successful business. Last July it acquired ARLA
status, when Amy Williams passed the final exam for membership, for which she had been studying since 2009. This has been a welcome addition for Williams & Young, as Amy explains, “It was hard work but it was worth it. Our ARLA registration shows our clients that we are an agency that operates correctly, to the highest standards and that we have the knowledge to provide a first-class service.” This year has also seen rapid
College and County with (inset) Mark Crampton Smith
growth for the firm, which necessitated the move into its current premises on the Sutton Coldfield High Street in March. It is the continuing growth of their client base that has led the co-directors to consider branching out in the future. However, Neil Young emphasises, “We are committed to providing a quality letting agency service, and will only expand into estate agency once we are in a position to prevent this from affecting our commitment to our lettings customers and clients. We are happy to continue as long as we are able to provide a top class service to landlords and tenants.”
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