Local businesswoman Sara Watkins-Schmidt has acquired four-branch Complete Estate Agency, significantly expanding her presence in the Devon property market.
The acquisition adds 375 managed properties and 23 employees to Watkins-Schmidt’s existing operation.
The deal increases her managed portfolio from 33 to 408 properties.
Complete will continue to trade under its existing brand and retain its four branches. Its 23 employees will also remain with the business.
The agency operates from Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Exeter (Cranbrook). It covers both residential sales and lettings.
Complete also has an established presence in the new-build sales market.
Watkins-Schmidt now plans to grow both the sales and lettings sides of the business across Devon.
She entered the agency sector following redundancy in 2022. She subsequently launched her own lettings business.
In spring 2024, Watkins-Schmidt became a Sourced Living franchisee. She grew her managed portfolio organically to 33 properties before completing the latest acquisition.
She commented: “Complete was exactly the type of business I was looking for. It has an experienced team, established branches and a really strong local reputation.
“I’m local myself and one of the things that stood out was the focus on personal service. There was already a lot working well within the business, so this isn’t about coming in and changing everything.
“The Complete name is staying, the branches are staying and the existing team is staying. Residential sales is an important part of the business and something both the team and I are passionate about. Our focus now is on building on Complete’s previous achievements, increasing our reach across Devon and growing both sales and lettings.”
Sourced Living, part of Sourced Property Group, supported the acquisition.
Stephen Moss, founder and CEO of Sourced Property Group, said acquisitions could become an increasingly important route to growth for the company.
He said: “There is an interesting dynamic developing in the agency market. You have established owners who have spent years building successful businesses and are starting to think about succession and what comes next.
“At the same time, there are ambitious operators looking for opportunities to scale, and acquisitions can provide a way of doing that much more quickly than organic growth alone.
“The Complete acquisition is a good example of how the two can work together. An established business has the opportunity to move into its next phase, while an ambitious operator can take on an existing team, portfolio and infrastructure and build from there.”
