Talks are ongoing about portal choices for Cheshire-based estate agency Gascoigne Halman - acquired by Connells last year - and no decision has yet been taken on portals for Rook Matthews Sayer, a north of England agency acquired by Connells just yesterday.
Gascoigne Halman was an early gold member of OTM and dropped Zoopla as a result. A Connells spokeswoman has told Estate Agent Today that the continuing talks are between the agency group, Zoopla and OnTheMarket.
Connells’ latest acquisition, Rook Matthews Sayer, is a sales and lettings agency with 16 branches operating across Newcastle, Tyneside and Northumberland. At one time it had a representative on the Agents’ Mutual board.
Yesterday’s acquisition takes Connells Group's high street network to over 560 branches nationwide.
Rook Matthews Sayer, founded in 1990, will continue to trade under its existing brand name although founders Clive Rook, Rod Matthews and Richard Sayer will retire from the business on completion. A current director, Janet Walker, will become managing director of the company’s 130 employees.
"This is our largest and most significant acquisition in 2016 and signals that the group remains in expansive mode this year" says David Plumtree, Connells Group estate agency chief executive. "By incorporating Rook Matthews Sayer into our network, we fill a geographical gap in our portfolio which allows us to extend our market leading proposition into new geographical markets” he says.
Rook Matthews Sayer was an early agency to join OnTheMarket; Connells is a stakeholder in Zoopla.
Meanwhile Countrywide recently told Estate Agent Today that it was not in a position to comment on possible portal choices by John Francis, a 21-office agency covering south Wales which was acquired late last year. Countrywide is another stakeholder in Zoopla while John Francis currently remains as a member of OnTheMarket.
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I wonder what way OTM will lean on this one??
I changed my mind. I do not care one way or the other.
Perhaps they should both go with neither and just market on RM? Or perhaps one should go with Z and the other with OTM and then they can measure results and make a decision based on facts rather than emotion. The problem is it's unlikely either would want to go back to Z...
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