The boss of Martin & Co has revealed that he hopes to do more deals such as the acquisition of Xperience – formerly Legal & General’s franchising network.

The purchase, which completed late last October, propelled Martin & Co into a new stage of growth, making the firm the UK’s fourth largest agent behind Countrywide, LSL and Connells.

The deal added 89 offices to the Martin & Co network which now has 282 branches.

Ian Wilson told Eye that the immediate plan is to grow the network to 300 offices “as fast as we can”.

He added: “However, I have also now got a taste for recruiting not just franchisees but franchisors.

“I now plan to go through all 26 property franchising firms in the UK, do due diligence, and consider inviting them to join us and trade within a plc envelope.”

Martin & Co, which floated on the stock market in December 2013, yesterday delivered its first full-year results after becoming a public company.

Wilson said: “One thing I did not consider was the ongoing annual costs of becoming a plc. You have to do things properly, and have the right appointments in place, including non-executive directors – all the things that the City expects you to do.

“Any other private firm considering a flotation needs to set aside some £500,000 a year, every year. They also need to think very carefully as to whether they can actually afford this in their first year of trading as a public company, or whether it would blow too much of a hole in their profits.”

Martin & Co now has a portfolio of over 40,000 properties under management and Wilson believes this is the second only to Countrywide.

He said that the firm, which has expanded into sales, will never lose sight of its lettings business: “That is our bedrock of income,” he said.

“However, we can certainly grow our estate agency business a very long way.

“A few years ago, no one really gave much thought to Martin & Co. Now I believe everyone can see that we are an extremely ambitious business.”

Last year, Martin & Co pulled in £5.2m and made pre-tax profits of £1.9m.

This is how Eye believes the league table of the biggest agents by offices is shaping up. However, please let us know if these numbers are incorrect, or supply any updates.

Countrywide 1300-plus offices

LSL 540

Connells Group 500

Martin & Co 282

Spicerhaart (across all brands including Chewton Rose) 194

Belvoir 160

Hunters 127

Arun Estates 115

Other big players include:

Winkworth 97 (plus three offices overseas)

Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward 52