Spicerhaart to buy lettings businesses as veteran chief steps back

Spicerhaart’s veteran chief executive Paul Smith is stepping back to concentrate on company growth - including the acquisition of more lettings agencies.

The company announced overnight that he would move to the role of executive chairman with a special brief for growth and acquisitions.

Spicerhaart has had a spate of new management appointments in recent months as it continues its transformation into home-based ‘partners’, some using branches or others using large Property Centre hubs.

A PR statement from the agency says Smith will work on “further development of its separate Estate Agency and Lettings Partnership programmes, with fully-employed home-based agents supported by larger high-performing branches and regional property centres, backed up by three call centres across the UK”

He says: .“We are also looking at further organic growth as well as acquiring more lettings businesses, growing the number of self-employed financial advisers with Just Mortgages, and introducing a new conveyancing offering. Plus, importantly, we are identifying how we can give everyone in the Spicerhaart family more of a say in the future running and profitability of the business and developing our team further.”

Spicerhaart was founded with three branches in East Anglia in 1989, before acquiring part of Cornerstone in 1995 and Woolwich Property Services in 1999, which was renamed haart. Further acquisitions followed, with Darlows in Wales in 2000, Haybrook in South Yorkshire in 2007, butters john bee in the Midlands in 2017 and Howards in Norfolk a year later. Felicity J Lord was established in London in 1998 and upmarket brand Chewton Rose in 2013.

The company also operates Just Mortgages, Valunation, Spicerhaart Corporate Services and Spicerhaart Land and New Homes.

Spicerhaart’s new chief executive will be announced in the near future.