Mr and Mrs Clarke founders leave after ‘lovely’ Belvoir takeover

The founders of Mr and Mrs Clarke, who sold the business to Belvoir last year, have left the franchise brand and paid tribute to its new owners. 

Paul and Alex sold their Mr and Mrs Clarke self-employed franchise business to Belvoir in March 2022.

Paul told Estate Agent Today that there wasn’t a timescale for how long the couple would stay on board but he said it naturally felt like time to move on in May, around 18 months later.

He said: “It was a really lovely acquisition. We have been through an acquisition of other businesses we have setup in the past and it was brutal and really corporate.

“Belvoir on the other hand was a lovely process from moment one. They massively believe in the brand.

“We were happy to stay on and worked with them for just under a year.”

Alex decided she wanted to spend more time with the kids and Paul said he fancied a new challenge and has since joined the &Co Group, which owns independent brands Peter Ball & Co and Alexander & Co, as marketing director.

He added: “As an entrepreneur and having setup and run two businesses to an exit, it is an amazing experience, especially if it is to someone who cares for it and respects what you have done.

“The amount I have learned having done it twice to bring into a group is really refreshing.

“We want to grow the established brands and the business is looking at other acquisitions.”