Countrywide is this morning reported by Property Week to be looking to expand its commercial property business with a major acquisition.

According to Property Week, it approached accountancy giant Deloitte before Christmas, but no agreement has yet been reached. The firm acquired Drivers Jonas in January 2010, merging it with its existing property business, subsquently branding it as Deloitte Real Estate.

The publication says that  Countrywide made the takeover approach via its own Lambert Smith Hampton business, which last year bought three commercial agencies

If Countrywide is successful in acquiring DRE, it would gain 700-plus staff and a business that produced revenues of around £150m last year.

Property Week says that “part of Countrywide’s strategy is to grow its commercial business, w as its residential estate agency chain comes under growing pressure from online agents charging cheaper fees”.

Yesterday, EYE reported that Countrywide CEO Alison Platt is to join Tesco’s board as a non-executive director – a move that has sparked speculation that Tesco may be interested in re-entering the estate agency market, while it is known that Platt has ambitions for Countrywide to enter the online estate agency sector.

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/news-flash-countrywide-boss-alison-platt-joining-tesco-board/