One of hybrid agent EweMove’s first franchisees has expanded his North West territory by rebranding as Property Franchise Group stablemate Whitegates.

Chris Walthall, who had owned EweMove Leek & Hanley alongside son Daniel since 2013, will now operate as Whitegates Stoke on Trent – a virtual ‘spoke’ office.

Martin & Co’s Macclesfield office, meanwhile, which Walhall purchased in a 2020 resale process, will also become Whitegates Macclesfield.

Having also incorporated Martin & Co’s Biddulph office into his EweMove portfolio in 2018, the Whitegates rebrand marks the end of a busy nine years for Walthall, whose daughter Amy also works in the business as branch director in Macclesfield.

He said: “Rebranding as Whitegates has enabled us to really expand our territory.

“We’re now covering all of Macclesfield and Congleton, as well as the ST postcode area from ST1 to ST9 and ST13.

“That’s a huge territory and one we’re really excited to be at the heart of.

“We’ve got a fantastic team, too, which includes Amy and Daniel but also Martin & Co Macclesfield’s former owner Mark Askey, who is vastly experienced, so the future looks really bright for us.”

Whitegates MD Rob Smith added: “Chris and his family were among the first EweMove franchisees, were hugely successful and won multiple awards during their nine years with the brand.

“I’m really excited to welcome them to the Whitegates family and know they’ll make a huge success of their offices in Macclesfield and Stoke on Trent.”