Franchise agency Redstones, which has 13 offices across the Midlands, has acquired student letting company Housemates.

Redstones, now one of the largest agencies in the Midlands after 15 years in operation, manages over 5,000 properties already and the new acquisition will allow it to enter the student and house-share market for the first time. 

Housemates – which like Redstones is based in Wolverhampton – has been letting student properties since 2006 and employs seven staff. Each year it helps the 23,000 students at Wolverhampton University find accommodation and under its new ownership it plans to recruit four additional staff.

“We’re always looking to take the next step and it’s been an ambition of ours to expand into the student market for some time” explains Manj Singh, the agency’s owner. 

The acquisition was secured with a loan from HSBC.