A rapidly expanding estate agent which has just acquired a competitor says that mounting industry challenges are providing “an unprecedented window of opportunity” to accelerate its growth.

Linley & Simpson, which has 11 branches across North and West Yorkshire, has acquired York firm Coalters. The sum paid has not been disclosed.

Coalters has one branch in the centre of the city, employing 24 staff and with a £1.2m turnover. In 2015, it won the title of best single-office agent in the UK, in the Times and Sunday Times awards.

The acquisition is the 31st made by Linley & Simpson in its 21-year history, and its fourth in the last two months.

The deal extends its total lettings portfolio across Yorkshire to almost 6,000 properties and, following the transfer of Coalters staff, takes its number of employees past the 180 mark.

It will result in Linley & Simpson consolidating its status as York’s largest letting agent, while also elevating its position in residential sales.

Director Will Linley said: “We are delighted to acquire an agency of the size, stature and reputation of Coalters.

“This represents a tailor-made fit for us and the timing is ideal.

“Against an increasingly challenging backdrop for our sector, we believe there is now an unprecedented window of opportunity to develop and strengthen our business through acquisition.

“We have ambitious plans to improve and innovate our services and, strategically, this deal is central to this continuing journey of planned growth.

“This acquisition is a further signal of our confidence in the future of Yorkshire’s property market – and investing in it.”

Reuben Barrett, founder and managing director of Coalters, said: “We launched the business from my spare bedroom in 2007 and, thanks to our team, I’m proud of how far we have come and what we have achieved.

“We share a lot of synergy with Linley & Simpson – we are both forward-thinking agencies – and the pooling of our combined expertise and insight will create a really strong platform for the future.”

Linley & Simpson will relocate from its current York city centre base to the bigger offices previously occupied by Coalters.