Thomas Morris Sales and Lettings, the highly successful firm in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, has been acquired by the acquisitions arm of LSL.

LSLi has bought a major shareholding in the firm, allowing four of the seven previous partners to exit the business.

The three who are staying, retaining an equity share in Thomas Morris, are Simon Bradbury, Russell Sansby and Kevin Thomas.

The estate agency training company TM Training & Development, which was owned by the partners of Thomas Morris, does not form part of the LSLi deal and will continue to operate separately.

Thomas Morris has seven branches, and also operates a Fine & Country division.

David Brown, managing director of LSLi, said: “We are delighted to have acquired a majority shareholding in such a fantastic business.

“This is the ninth independent estate agency acquisition for LSLi and it fits perfectly with our strategy of acquiring high quality and diversified businesses”

Simon Bradbury said: “Our experience with LSLi over the last few months has been extremely positive.

“What we’ve found most appealing about the whole experience is that we will continue to run Thomas Morris but we also now have the backing of the second largest estate agency group in the UK, who understand our business, and which means that together we will continue to invest in Thomas Morris.

“Most importantly the deal provides added security and additional opportunities for all the staff at Thomas Morris. We’re all really excited about the future.”

Brown added: “LSLi continue to offer an attractive exit strategy for estate agency owners.

“Our nine brands now total 57 offices. Clearly this approach has proven to be attractive to Thomas Morris, allowing the partners to achieve their own personal objectives as well as enabling LSLi to continue its expansion.”