Lomond Group has strengthened its position in Scotland after sealing a brace of strategic acquisitions – adding more than 600 properties to its rental portfolio.

Stonehouse, its long-established brand covering the city of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, has bought sector stablemate Geraghty-Gibb Property Management.

The deal propels the number of homes under its management past the 2,000-unit milestone for the first time and increases its staff numbers to 40 after inheriting the central Aberdeen team of Geraghty-Gibb.

The former Geraghty-Gibb portfolio is being shared between Stonehouse’s two branches which consist of its Riverside Drive head office in Aberdeen, and Kemnay.

The second acquisition sees the group’s DJ Alexander brand bolster its portfolio by a further 330 properties after taking over the letting book of Glasgow block management specialists Speirs Gumley. The latter will now focus exclusively on its core business of residential and commercial property management, as well as investing in its future growth.

Seven members of the Speirs Gumley lettings team are also transferring to DJ Alexander. They join amid another milestone moment for the agency – it has just opened its new flagship Glasgow office at Byres Road, in the heart of the city’s West End.

Stonehouse continues to work in increasingly-closer partnership with DJ Alexander, which became part of the Lomond Group last December – a transformational move that established Lomond as the biggest letting operator in Scotland. It now has more than 10,000 Scottish properties under management.

Aileen Merchant, Stonehouse’s MD, said: “We are thrilled to acquire an agency of Geraghty-Gibb’s calibre in a deal that is the ideal fit, and one which strengthens our presence as the district’s premier letting agency.

“It is also perfect timing, as the sector is witnessing its busiest period in a decade or more. Students have returned, and crucially there is already greater optimism in the oil and gas sector with a large number of new licences in the North Sea poised for approval.

“This positivity has already started to filter through and there is excitement at the prospect of substantial job and wealth creation coming to an area which is very much a long-standing Lomond heartland.”

David Alexander, chief executive of DJ Alexander and who heads up Lomond Group’s Scottish operations, said: “Expansion has always been central to our plans, and this duo of deals marks yet another exciting step forward for our company.

“I believe there are excellent opportunities across all of our Scottish heartlands, and we will continue to grow in the coming years as landlords, property investors, and tenants welcome the growing range of services we offer and the quality of delivery we provide.”