Estate agency Linley & Simpson builds for growth with trio of acquisitions

Linley & Simpson, the Yorkshire-based estate agency, has announced the completion of a trio of acquisitions.

The independent agency, which has a network of 11 High Street branches, has taken over Mint Property in York; Acorn Estates, which had offices in Yeadon and Horsforth; and an undisclosed agent based in Leeds city centre.

The three deals boost Linley & Simpson’s letting portfolio past the milestone of 5,500 managed properties across North and West Yorkshire.

They also add homes that are on the market to its residential sales division.

The portfolios of all three agencies will transfer into Linley & Simpson’s teams at Micklegate in York city centre; Station Road in Horsforth; and Swinegate in Leeds city centre.

Director Will Linley, who founded the business in 1997 with Nick Simpson, said: “We are thrilled to welcome all three of these home-grown independent agencies into the Linley & Simpson family.

“They are a perfect fit for our business and complement our geographical footprint. They are assets which can only help us enrich the quality of customer service we offer.

“This extra dimension will offer landlords the opportunity to access our growing database of people looking to rent in some of Yorkshire’s most sought-after locations.

“And it will benefit tenants by extending the pool of properties they can search for.

He added: “The hundreds of extra properties we have inherited will ensure we are ideally placed to keep pace with rising rental demand. It’s a challenge that has become a struggle for many agents, especially as a result of more people renting for longer.

“Our own research has shown that tenants are now choosing to live in their rental properties for almost twice as long as they did just a decade ago, so there are fewer properties becoming available.”

“Mint and Acorn were both retirement sales and we thank the founders of both companies for entrusting us with the diverse property portfolios they have built up over almost 40 years between them.”

The trio of deals, each bought for an undisclosed sum, will result in more than 350 properties switching to Linley & Simpson

The company now operates branches in Leeds city centre, Horsforth, Roundhay, Chapel Allerton, York, Harrogate, Ripon, Wetherby, Ilkley, Saltaire and Wakefield.