Lomond has agreed a deal to buy Kinleigh Folkard and Hayward (KFH), adding more than 60 new branches to its estate agency network, significantly strengthening its position in the capital in the process.

The acquisition of KFH, which employs over 900 people, comes just over three months after Lomond expanded into the London market following the purchase of Chase Evans, carving out a new regional territory in the process.

Having previously kept focus across their existing regional areas of the North West, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Scotland and the South Coast, Lomond’s decision to buy Chase Evans, a well-respected agent with more than 25 years operating within the London market, gave the company an extremely well-established and firm foothold in the capital for the first time. But the acquisition of KFH, which will formally complete at the end of January 2025, will instantly make Lomond one of the biggest agencies in the city.

The purchase includes close to 14,000 properties under management, as well as build to rent, block management, surveying and financial services offerings.

The founder and MD of KFH, Lee Watts, commented: “During the last 45 years we have grown the KFH brand across London under our own steam, underpinned by great people delivering excellent service with care. Our new partnership with Lomond provides the opportunity to grow even further sharing our values of great service and a people first approach into more homes across the capital.

“We are excited by the vast opportunity in continuing our growth journey with the support of Lomond, it really is the beginning of a new chapter for the KFH brand and our ambition to be the go to choice of agent across London.”

Lomond’s CEO, Ed Phillips, said: “As our first acquisition under our new partnership with ICG, it’s a big one and I am delighted to have secured the acquisition of Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward. KFH is a brand I’ve admired for many years in the London market and to have them part of Lomond underlines our ambitions for growth within London.

“The acquisition of KFH marks an incredibly exciting chapter for us, whilst this is our second brand in the capital after the recent acquisition of Chase Evans, this now gives us significant opportunity across a number of key London boroughs and vast potential for future growth as we add Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward as our cornerstone brand in London whilst working with the teams at Chase Evans to leverage the capabilities of both businesses.

“The addition of 60 London branches to our nationwide network, means we’re now able to directly refer buyers and investors from London to our brands across the country and vice versa – an exciting development for our marketing strategy and a key component of our journey to become the leading estate and lettings agency business in the country.”

Estate agency giant changes hands as new owner eyes fresh acquisitions