Dexters is believed to be in talks to acquire Chestertons, one of the world’s oldest estate agents.

EYE has been told by several well-placed sources that the rapidly growing London-based estate agency has entered detailed negotiations about a deal to buy 218-year-old estate agent Chestertons.

We have been informed that talks are progressing well, although a deal was not certain to happen.

Chestertons put itself up for sale in September 2021 as the company’s owners at the time sought to take advantage of buoyant market conditions in prime London.

Chestertons’ owners hired Deloitte, the professional services firm, to offload the business, with the company believed to be seeking a valuation of about £100m from a sale.

The business, which operates a number of offices across the capital, is owned by an investment vehicle of Salah Mussa, a Libyan businessman who acquired it in 2005.

Lomond Group, which is part-owned by LDC, entered negotiations about a deal to acquire Chestertons in December 2021, but an agreement was not struck.

Now we are being told that Dexters are hoping to acquire the business, which if accurate, would be the latest in a long line of purchases by company. The estate agency completed the acquisition of Marsh & Parsons from LSL Property Services for £29m earlier this year, adding around 30 branches to the business.

Dexters now has 150 offices across London, with 2,000 members of staff serving more than 37,000 landlords and advising on the sale of over £5bn worth of property per year.

In February last year, Dexters announced a partnership and major financial backing from Oakley Capital with a growth strategy of opening further offices and building market share through the acquisition of other competitors, alongside expanding the group’s digital presence and services.

Dexters has maintained consistent growth, increasing revenue by 14% per year over the last 10 years.

The company recently announced the opening of nine new offices in south east London located in Blackheath, Brockley, East Dulwich, Honor Oak, Ladywell, Lee, New Cross, Nunhead and Peckham Rye.

Dexters refused to comment on the Chestertons speculation.

A Dexters spokesperson told EYE: “Dexters does not comment on market speculation. Dexters is London’s leading estate agent with over 150 offices across London. Dexters are experts in acquiring estate agency businesses and are regularly talking to business owners as they have a strong reputation for completing deals confidentially.”