Humberts has opened a brand new branch on The Square in Forest Row, East Sussex.

The franchise has been bought by an existing franchisee, Simon Lewis, who, being one of the ‘Humberts originals’ already has a branch in East Grinstead where he has been operating for more than 27 years.

This further office will focus on the village of Forest Row and the surrounding villages as well as properties in the Ashdown Forest. It will expand the brand’s presence further across East Sussex which has become even more highly sought after since the pandemic began.

Lewis was part of a consortium of franchisees that succeeded in buying the Humberts business out of administration in January 2020.

Humberts, founded in 1842, merged with Chestertons in 2009 with both businesses in trouble during the recession.

The two de-merged in 2014, but Humberts, then headed by Ian Westerling, went into administration in April 2018 after Mercantile Group – which had owned both Humberts and Chestertons – decided against continuing its backing of the estate agency group.

The new franchise agreement expands Humberts’ network to nine branches across the UK, four of which joined just as Covid-19 began. The total fleet now includes East Grinstead, Forest Row, Honiton, Norwich, Sevenoaks, Taunton, Truro, Yeovil and York, offering services across residential sales and lettings, new homes, commercial, leisure, farm and land management.

Lewis commented: “Thanks to the support that Humberts provides including high spec technology and marketing, 2021 was a bumper year of sales and lettings at my East Grinstead branch. Humberts’ digital services in particular were instrumental in keeping viewings happening during the various lockdowns, which demonstrates the group’s ability to allow businesses to thrive during periods of uncertainty.

“With buyers flocking to the county following Covid-19, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase a new franchise agreement as Forest Row and the surrounding area have been very popular recently due to its beautiful properties and listed houses together with the excellent lifestyle, schooling and transport links. It is an increasingly desirable place to live, and we believe we can offer potential sellers unrivalled benefits with our local knowledge and support of a long established national brand by having a presence in Forest Row.”

Tim Stephens, head of franchising and director of Humberts Norwich, said: “We are delighted that Simon has expanded his business with Humberts, following the success of East Grinstead during these unprecedented times. It has certainly been a testing couple of years for everybody, but we are all feeling very positive about the next twelve months.”

According to Stephens, Humberts continues to seek out estate agents with the ambition to expand and to link in with existing franchise offices across the country.

He explained: “Benefits include exceptional marketing tools, a national media presence via PR and advertising, portal discounts, cross referrals and training courses. We have opportunities for people to start their own business in areas where the brand name and goodwill has been extremely strong. This will provide a great springboard to those starting up and indeed existing companies that may be looking to merge with a national brand to lift their profile and gain access to higher valued properties.

Immediate areas that Hunters are looking to expand to include London, Kent, Surrey, West Sussex, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Cotswolds, Hertfordshire and East Midlands.

He added: “Despite our evolution to become industry leaders, the desire to support people on their property journey continues to underpin our business and ethos. Our customers benefit from our passion, commitment and ability to deliver a bespoke service, whether they are buying or selling, need help with property maintenance or would like to explore letting.”