Another indie agency snapped up by group with private equity cash

The Lomond Group has made another acquisition of an independent lettings firm, this time in the Midlands.

Its John Shepherd brand has taken over SecureLets which has a rental portfolio of 326 properties in Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

The business was owned by Jeremy McGinn, who will now focus exclusively on residential sales.

As part of the deal, John Shepherd will open a new office in Redditch after taking over the former premises of SecureLets; the office will be rebranded to John Shepherd over the coming weeks. Former staff from SecureLets will also transfer to John Shepherd. 

This is the second major Lomond deal within a fortnight “to consolidate John Shepherd’s Midlands presence” according to a statement.

Richard Crathorne, chief executive of John Shepherd, says: “To further extend our footprint, and have a dedicated presence in this bullseye location for the first time, brings an exciting new dimension to our network of branches.”

John Shepherd, whose six branches are now in Birmingham, Solihull, Shirley, Sutton Coldfield, Cannockand Redditch, became part of the Lomond Group at end of 2020.

The Lomond Group now has a combined portfolio of over 35,000 properties under its management; it operates in what it calls “major hubs in private rental hotspots” including Aberdeen, Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and York. 

It includes Linley & Simpson across Yorkshire and the Humber; Thornley Groves in Greater Manchester and Cheshire; John Shepherd in its Birmingham and Midlands hub; Brand Vaughan plus Michael Jones and Company in the South East; as well as DJ Alexander and Stonehouse in Scotland.

The Lomond Group has the backing of private equity firm LDC, with access to further acquisition investment provided by LGT Capital Partners.