In the latest property market news, one of UK’s heritage real estate Agents, Chestertons, was acquired by Swiss Private Equity Firm Partners Group, Emeria for a mysteriously generous sum of money! According to experts, the Emeria deal came as a blessing in disguise for the otherwise grappling financial situation, these 200-year-old estate agents in London were facing for a while.
A joint statement released by the now Chestertons-Emeria Group stated, “In a move that will see substantial investment into the expansion of the 200-year old business. Chestertons will now operate within Emeria UK’s ‘Champions’ division”. While the UK real estate market rocks on a bed of sky-touching prices and disruptive mortgage rates, a power move like this by Emeria is believed to change the fate of prime and elite real estate dealings.
However, Chestertons, owned by Mercantile Group since 2005, is looking forward to putting their two decades of struggle to good use with this merger. In the words of now Chairman Mr. Salah Mussa, “In the 19 years since acquiring Chestertons, I have watched the brand grow substantially to resume its place amongst the leading names in residential property. With 2023 set to be a record year for the business, it demonstrates how we have transformed from a struggling small agency into a thriving, resilient business.”
With 30 already operational offices and a dream of further expanding their wings within the UK, this historic Estate Agents in London signed off a hushed deal of £100 million, as per The Financial Times. While this UK-based merger dropped jaws across town, rest assured Chesterton’s non-UK offices spanning 12 locations including Greece, Spain, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates will remain under Mercantile Group’s ownership.
In related news, the Chestertons-Emeria collaboration news followed suit right after a series of blockbuster mergers from the real estate industry. Notable takeovers include US property moguls CoStar Group, who acquired prominent property portal OnTheMarket for £99 million. Dating just a year back, online estate giant Purplebricks was acquired by Rival Strike for just £1 million. In the words of CoStar “attractive strategic entry point into the UK residential property market”.