Yorkshire agent offloads lettings portfolio to focus on sales

Yorkshire agent Preston Baker has sold its lettings portfolio to focus on residential sales.

It has offloaded its book of more than 600 lettings properties to Linley & Simpson.

Preston Baker will also invest in accelerating growth across its other specialisms - new homes, land and planning, and financial services.

Leeds-headquartered Preston Baker was founded in 2008 as a one-branch estate agency and four people. 

The company now employs a team of 85 and operates out of eight offices.

Its joint founder and managing director, Ian Preston, said: “This is a deal that has collective benefit for both agencies.

“For Preston Baker, it allows us to focus on our core business strengths at pace and at scale.

“It’s also an opportunity to accelerate the development of our emerging specialisms - new homes, land and planning, and financial services.

“We have long been highly regarded for helping people at the end of their home-buying journey. 

“We’re now keen to maximise our skills and insight in supporting them at the start – that’s why the extra expertise offered by our land-buying and planning teams sit at the heart of this strategic repositioning of our business.”
 

As part of the deal, 620 prime properties spanning North, West and South Yorkshire - plus ten lettings staff - will transfer to Linley & Simpson.

They will be integrated into existing offices in Leeds, York and Wakefield – part of its growing network of 23 branches across Yorkshire and The Humber.

Nick Simpson, chief executive of Lomond Group-backed Linley & Simpson, said: “We are thrilled to inherit a portfolio and a team of people that are both high on quality.

“The deal is another great geographical and people fit for us, and further strengthens our position at the head of the marketplace in these in-demand locations.

“We now look forward to the opportunity of taking our customer service to hundreds of new tenants and landlords, as well as forging long-lasting relationships with them.

“This investment is yet another vote of our continuing confidence in the energy of the private rented sector in our Yorkshire heartland.”