Member Article

Third deal reflects buoyancy in housing market

Leading Midlands law firm Higgs & Sons is testament to the increased buoyancy in the housing market over recent years, after recently advising on the major acquisition of an estate agency business - its third such matter in just six months.

The sale of Paul Dubberley Estate Agents from Bond Wolfe Homes Limited to Connells Residential in May 2016 was the third acquisition in which Higgs has acted since November 2015. The three deals reflect a growing confidence in a sector which is estimated to have grown at an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in the five years since 2011.

“This sustained market growth that we have witnessed since we came out of recession in 2011 has seen an increasing number of consolidations and acquisitions in the estate agency industry,” comments Susheel Gupta, a partner in Higgs & Sons’ Corporate team.

“Higgs has been involved in three major deals over the past six months, which reflects the growing confidence and continued expansion in this sector.”

In addition to the recent sale of Paul Dubberley Estate Agents to Connells Residential, the end of 2015 saw Higgs & Sons’ experts advise on two further significant sales. In November, the firm acted for Heritage Property Limited when the Leamington Spa based agency was sold to national network, Leaders Limited, whilst in December, Higgs’ acted for the shareholders of CP Bigwood on its sale to Shepherds Direct.

Richard Hill the major shareholder of Heritage Property felt the expertise and service levels offered by Higgs & Sons were key factors in ensuring the deal went so smoothly. “Selling your own business is a difficult decision but once we had made that decision we wanted to instruct a professional firm of solicitors with expertise in estate agency work to assist in the transaction. Higgs & Sons had that.”

Rory Daly, CEO of SDL Bigwood commented: “The team at Higgs & Sons were fantastic at getting to the key points so quickly. Susheel Gupta, Jody Webb and Katie Willems’ understanding of our business really helped get the deal done and I would wholeheartedly recommend the firm to anyone in a similar situation.”

Susheel Gupta concludes: “Higgs & Sons is ideally placed to support those estate agencies that are seeking to respond to the continuing buoyancy in the market by selling or expanding through acquisition.

We have an expansive team of experts covering all aspects of corporate matters, property, litigation and employment law which enables us to offer a comprehensive service to businesses throughout this growing sector.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Taylor .