Buzzacott advises Foxtons on the acquisition of Haslams Estate Agents and Imagine Property Group

Overview of the deal

Foxtons has acquired Haslams Estate Agents and Imagine Property Group in two separate acquisitions. The acquisitions reflect further progress against Foxtons strategy to acquire high quality, earnings accretive, lettings focused businesses, with synergistic growth opportunities which increase the Group’s exposure to recurring lettings revenues (lettings revenue accounts for c.60% of total revenue for each acquisition).

The Acquisitions expand Foxtons’ network into the new complementary markets of Reading and Watford:

• Both markets are commuter towns with excellent transport links to London, with Central London accessible in under 30 minutes. 
• Both markets are forecast to deliver leading levels of economic growth versus the rest of the UK, with Reading forecast to become the UK’s fastest growing location by 2027.
• The Acquisitions build on Foxtons’ success in the London commuter towns of Guildford and Woking.

Who are the firms involved?

Haslams operates from three branches and is primarily focussed on the commuter town of Reading, with additional coverage of the nearby towns of Wokingham and Crowthorne through its Michael Hardy brand.

Haslams’ unaudited total revenue and operating profit for the 12 months ended 31 December 2023 was £6.5m and £0.8m respectively. Initial consideration for the acquisition, on a cash and debt free basis, is £7.6m, with £2.4m deferred and contingent on the delivery of performance targets.

Imagine operates from three branches and is focussed on the commuter town of Watford and its surrounding areas. 

Imagine’s unaudited total revenue and operating profit for the 12 months ended 31 March 2024 was £3.3m and £0.5m respectively. Initial consideration for the acquisition, on a cash and debt free basis, is £5.0m, with £1.0m deferred and contingent on the delivery of performance targets. 

Both businesses are being bought from private individual shareholders.

Highlights of the deal

Having previously assisted Foxtons with five transactions in recent years (Douglas & Gordon, Stones Residential, Gordon & Co, Atkinson McLeod and Ludlow Thompson) it was a pleasure to work again with Chris Hough (CFO, Foxtons) and Andy Bushell (Director, Foxtons). Our team worked collaboratively with both sellers and Foxtons to ensure a positive result was achieved in a very quick timeframe. 

Buzzacott performed financial and tax due diligence services and provided buy-side transaction advice, significant assisting getting both deals to completion. 

The transaction team was made up of George Thresh and Megan Leonard-Moran, overseen by Alex Judd. 

The tax due diligence team was made up of Liam McKeevor, Kazia Kruszewski and Anais Leinhart Ortega. 

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