Franchise owners Peter Mahoney and Craig Wicking have continued their expansion across the North West after acquiring Martin & Co Widnes.
The latest deal gives the pair a third office within the Martin & Co network, following their earlier acquisitions of branches in Rochdale and Leigh.
The acquisition of Widnes represents another milestone for the business as it seeks to build a scalable multi-office operation.
Mahoney and Wicking first joined the franchise group in 2023 with the purchase of the Rochdale operation before expanding again in 2025 through the acquisition and launch of the Leigh office.
Wicking commented: “Widnes felt like a natural fit for us. It’s a similar type of market to Rochdale and Leigh, with strong rental demand, a solid base of landlords, and somewhere we could build on what we have already built. It also helps from a coverage point of view. Having Rochdale, Leigh and now Widnes gives us a better spread across the North West, which makes it easier to keep things consistent operationally across the offices.”
“Our growth is a sign that the model works,” continued Wicking. “A big part of that is the team we’ve built. The management structure we’ve put in place over the last year is what has allowed us to take on another office without things becoming stretched. Personally, it’s good to see that coming together. Professionally, it gives us confidence we can keep building in a controlled way.”
“Rochdale gave us a really good grounding,” Mahoney added. “It showed us what works, where we could improve and how we wanted to run the business day to day. The second office was probably the key step though. We had to ensure we had a robust management structure in place that didn’t rely on us being involved in everything directly. Once that was working, it made the decision to expand again a lot more straightforward. At that point, it becomes about adding to a structure rather than building from scratch each time.”
Looking ahead, the pair said they remain open to future opportunities within the network.
Toby Phillips, MD of Martin & Co, commented: “Peter and Craig have demonstrated a clear and disciplined approach to growth since joining the network in 2023. Their focus on operational structure, consistency and long-term service standards has enabled them to scale successfully across multiple territories.
“The acquisition of Martin & Co Widnes is another positive step for the business, and we look forward to supporting them as they continue to strengthen their presence across the North West.”
