'One of Northern England's largest estate agencies' to be formed with Yorkshire acquisition

A Yorkshire estate agency has announced the acquisition of a Lancashire estate agent to create one of Northern England’s largest independently owned estate agency groups.

Manning Stainton, established in 2011, has acquired Ryder & Dutton, meaning that the group now has more than 40 branches covering Leeds, Manchester, West Yorkshire, East Lancashire and Derbyshire.

Mortimers Estate Agents, which acquired Ryder & Dutton in 2017, will also sit under the Northern Estate Agency Group parent company.

The combined agencies have a turnover of almost £25m and the newly formed group will employ a team of almost 450 people, while retaining the senior management teams across both companies.

The deal will also create an expanded mortgage business, with a combined team of more than 30 mortgage advisors providing services to clients. The lettings side of the business will also be enlarged, with the Northern Estate Agencies Group now managing more than 3,000 properties.

Mark Manning, new group managing director, said: “We have much in common with Ryder & Dutton, both home-grown and well established in our respective regions, with shared core values. The value in the estate agency industry is within its people, and combined, we have the best people in the business.”

Richard Powell, managing director of Ryder & Dutton, said: “This is the coming together of two like-minded businesses who can really move the Northern estate agency sector forward and take more market share in each region. We’re building our businesses while retaining our successful local approach.”

He continued: “We both pride ourselves on unrivalled local knowledge and great customer service, and we’ve admired and respected each other’s work and approach for many years. Forming an enlarged Northern Estate Agencies Group made sense on every level, and demonstrates our confidence in the growth of our industry.”