GPEA Ltd - the parent company of the Guild of Property Professionals and Fine & Country - has announced it has agreed a merger with easyProperty.
The merger will see GPEA licence the easy brand to its membership of more than 5,000, with participating agents offered the chance to use alternative marketing methods including up-front online sales and lettings packages.
Guild members and Fine & Country agents will be able to licence the easyProperty brand for £500 per territory.
The easyProperty brand will remain in the budget marketplace, aiming to compete with Purplebricks.
The new company, eProp Services Ltd, will be chaired by Guild founder Malcolm Lindley, with Jon Cooke as chief executive.
Rob Ellice, easyProperty's current chief executive, will stay with the company, according to the Telegraph.
Communicated to agents via email last evening, the deal has been backed by Toscafund Asset Management LLP, which has in the past provided financial backing to easyProperty.
GPEA says the easy brand has many 'strengths and weaknesses' and that it is not a brand that would be associated with its 'core traditional business’.
It says, however, that it is a 'budget' and 'disruptor' brand that is trusted by 'Generation Easy'.
Back in March, easyProperty hinted that it was looking for additional funding after it posted a pre-tax operating loss of over £11 million.
The transaction is expected to complete next month, with a restructuring of the easyProperty company taking place throughout July and August. It is then expected that the easyProperty brand will relaunch in September.
News of the merger broke last evening and was first reported by the Telegraph here.
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I smell turkey and it's not Christmas
Is this a merger of two loss making companies seeking to increase their losses?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.....honestly dont know what else to say apart from that.
I must be vegetarian- that turkey Easy Property was the final straw that took me out of the Guild!
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