Firm set up by ex-Countrywide team acquires major London agency

Nick Dunning Associates - a firm led by senior ex-Countrywide staff - has acquired the well-known six-branch London agency Stirling Ackroyd.

Stirling Ackroyd was established 30 years ago and now has a network of offices in Bankside, Clerkenwell, Hackney, West End and Chatsworth Road, alongside the original Shoreditch branch.

In a statement this morning, Nick Dunning Associates says it will invest in the Stirling Ackroyd brand and branch network through a refurbishment and infrastructure upgrade programme. 

It says it will also seek to treble the business in size in three years, through organic growth and acquisition.

This is the third acquisition for Nick Dunning Associates, following the purchase of Adams Property in June and Badger Holdings Group in January.

Nick Dunning, chief executive of Nick Dunning Associates says: "We are very excited about this acquisition and delighted to be able to make this announcement. Stirling Ackroyd is a well-known and successful agency in London with a committed and loyal team behind it. We hope to grow the business over the next few years and further increase its presence in the city fringes and beyond."

Nick Dunning Associates launched in late 2016. Working with a private equity investor, it says it intends to become "a new scale player" in the agency industry and in lettings in particular by purchasing around 20 letting focussed businesses every year for the next five years in a buy and build play.

The leadership team consists of chief executive Nick Dunning, sales director Graham Harrison, commercial director Matt Hewitt and chief financial officer Julian Irby, all of whom worked together at Countrywide in the past.