Agency network Team has said that even before Zoopla’s acquisition of the Property Software Group there was growing concern over the “gradual concentration of power in the hands of one big software supplier”.

Meanwhile Rightmove said it has no problems with the acquisition by its competitor. A spokesman said: “We have a happy relationship with Property Software Group and see no reason for this to change.”

Team has a long-standing relationship with IT provider Resource Techniques.

Yesterday, Team’s IT director Kerry Applin, of Chapplins, in Fareham, Hampshire, said: “As traditional high street agents, the question of ownership and control of something as vital to our businesses as the software we rely on every day was always an absolutely key issue.

“In fact, it was precisely with a view to protecting our independence, by avoiding the possibility of finding ourselves at the mercy of some all-powerful supplier with their own agenda, that we entered into our partnership agreement with Resource Techniques – a highly successful arrangement which has worked to everyone’s mutual benefit for over 25 years.”

She added: “Unlike ordinary independent agents, who simply have to take what their provider is offering, we have been intimately involved at every stage in the development, testing and fine-tuning of our TeamWorks software – a process that continues to this day. The end result is a package which we feel meets the real needs of traditional independent agents more closely than anything available on the open market.”

She went on: “If you’re an independent high street agent, and you’re concerned about the danger of control over your precious data falling into the hands of some big, faceless corporation, Team membership is the only real alternative.”

Meanwhile Justin Morris, of software provider Dez Rez, said: “We will be watching to see how agents react to the union between Zoopla and PSG. There’s room for multiple business models but it’s too early to guess whether agents will feel that this could stifle the market and prevent them from delivering a full range of services.”