Martin & Co franchisee Kevin Hall has acquired the portfolio of Andrew & Co, boosting his position as a major letting agent in the Kent town.

Hall, who has run the Ashford branch of the national sales and lettings agency since 2010, says he has Storm Ciarán to thank for a third independent purchase.

Had Storm Ciarán not curtailed a flight to Portugal for a golf trip in November of last year, he may have missed out on the opportunity.

Hall explained: “I was due to take off at 3pm the following day, but there were 70mph winds forecast for Storm Ciarán, so I had a pretty good idea it wouldn’t take off.

“I’m a bad flyer as well, so I rearranged it for the following day.

“On the afternoon of the original flight at around 2.45pm, I got a phone call from the Property Franchise Group asking me if I had heard Andrew & Co’s portfolio was up for sale and that they’d already had an offer.

“I didn’t know anything about it and it must have been fate because had I got on that flight, I would have missed the phone call as well as the opportunity!

“I got straight on to the broker and Andrew Neal, Andrew & Co’s Managing Director, and we did the deal in the time it would have taken me to fly to Portugal.”

Hall’s Andrew & Co acquisition follows previous deals for FoxWood Maclean in 2019 and, most recently, Taylors Lettings in 2022.

As part of the deal, Martin & Co Ashford is also retaining three members of Andrew & Co’s letting team.

Andrew & Co’s sales business will continue across Ashford, New Romney, Cheriton, Folkestone, Dover, Rye and Tenterden.

Hall added: “Andrew and I set up our businesses in Ashford around the same time and we’ve had a great relationship for well over a decade.

“As soon as he knew we were interested in the portfolio, I think it was music to his ears as he knows what a tight ship we run and that his clients would be in more than safe hands moving forwards.”

Martin & Co MD, Eric Walker, commented: “It’s fantastic to see this further growth for the Ashford office.

“The branch has a fantastic reputation and their new clients, I’m sure, will quickly reap the benefits of the great experience, systems and know-how on offer from Kevin and his brilliant team.”