Lomond Group has this morning announced the appointment of Ed Phillips, the current head of lettings at Foxtons, as its new group chief executive.

The news comes after Foxtons announced yesterday that Phillips will leave the London-based agency after 20 years to take on another leading industry role.

Phillips joins Lomond at a time when the company is in advanced discussions to enter three new regions of the UK, including the London market.

Lomond a fast growing network of strong regional estate agency and lettings brands across the UK, has doubled in size over the last year as a result of 25 acquisitions. It now has more than 34,000 properties under management worth over £8bn.

Phillips will succeed Stuart Pender, the founder and current group chief executive, who will become executive chairman of the property business backed by LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group.

Pender said: “Attracting someone of Ed’s calibre and experience is an important part of our strategy to expand into more private rental markets around the UK. The Group has ambitious plans and we see Ed’s appointment as key in driving the next stage of our growth”.

Phillips added: “Lomond Group is the most exciting property business in the UK with ambitions to continue its rapid expansion. I look forward to working with the Board and the leaders of each of Lomond’s regional businesses to deliver a market leading network in key cities across the UK.”

The Lomond Group was established in December 2020 from the merger of Lomond Capital and Linley & Simpson. It has major hubs in core rental markets including Aberdeen, Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester.

LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, backed the creation of Lomond Group in December 2020, merging Lomond Capital and Linley & Simpson. The private equity firm continues to work closely with Pender and the management team to support Lomond Group’s buy and build strategy.

Foxtons appoints new managing director as lettings chief resigns