With some of the UK’s biggest estate agency groups sitting on hundreds of millions of pounds of debt, the last thing they need is more expensive borrowing and fewer property sales. Yet that is precisely the challenge they now face.
Inflation reached 3.5% in September, prompting the Bank of England to raise interest rates to 4%, with warnings that further increases could follow. Meanwhile, agreed property sales are running 8% below the same period last year, according to Rightmove.
For heavily indebted estate agency groups, it’s an uncomfortable combination. Borrowing is already expensive, refinancing could become costlier still, and sales income is under pressure.
Take Leaders Romans Group. Its parent company, Hadrian Holding Limited, reported a 15% increase in revenue to £298.8 million in 2025.
But its annual finance costs were a staggering £50.7 million, exceeding adjusted EBITDA. The group reported a pre-tax loss of £69.5 million, while bank borrowings rose to £418.7 million.
That’s almost £1 million a week in finance costs alone.
And the price of that borrowing is significant. Some of its loan facilities carry interest rates of more than 11% at current benchmark rates.
The business continued its acquisition programme, buying Chancellors and Northern Estate Agencies among others, with Farrar and Co following in March this year.
Lomond is another example. Its former parent company, Chianti Holdings Limited’s 2024 accounts showed a £32.1 million loss on turnover of £116.6 million, with interest costs of £32.2 million.
The group has since been refinanced under new ownership, making its current financial position harder to compare. But the substantial cost of financing its earlier expansion is clear.
Then there’s Dwelly, which has completed 13 acquisitions this year, taking its managed property portfolio to more than 16,000.
Behind Dwelly is Prospire Technologies Ltd, whose first consolidated accounts were filed on 30 September 2026. The business has attracted substantial investment and access to debt financing to support its ambitious growth plans. Yet its 2025 accounts showed a £3.7 million loss. Its reported target is 50,000 managed properties by the end of 2026.
Compare that with Connells, owned by Skipton Building Society. Having completed 13 acquisitions in 2025, it has paused further purchases during 2026, with plans to resume in 2027.
Its chief executive described the decision as an opportunity to “fix the roof”.
When one of the industry’s best-funded buyers stops buying, who is left to pay the prices the acquisition-led groups need when their owners come to sell?
I am not predicting failures. All three have substantial financial backers. But the margin for error is shrinking.
Borrowing to fund growth is one thing. Servicing millions of pounds of debt when borrowing is expensive and sales are falling is quite another.
For independents and family-owned firms, this could be the opportunity of the year. Branches will come up. Books will come up. The firms with cash and no interest bill will be the buyers, and they will set the price.
For the record, Spicerhaart carries no debt. I say that not to boast but because it is the only reason I can write this without a lender reading over my shoulder.
Who is building for the long term, I asked in March. The honest answer today is: whoever is not paying 11% to stand still.
