John Shepherd secures yet another acquisition…

John Shepherd, part of The Lomond Group has completed another strategic acquisition in the West Midlands.

The company has taken over sector stablemate SecureLets – a Jeremy McGinn lettings company. It inherits a rental portfolio of 326 properties across large swathes of north Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

The business was owned by Jeremy McGinn, who will now focus exclusively on residential sales through the estate agency business he launched in 2009, Jeremy McGinn & Co, and its three offices stretching along the border of both counties.

As part of the deal, John Shepherd will open a new office in Redditch after taking over the former premises of SecureLets, based in The Old Church on Ipsley Street.

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.

It previously benefited from the multi-regional acquisition of Property Hub Lets that saw 800 properties across Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool transfer into its portfolio.

Richard Crathorne, chief executive of John Shepherd, said: “We are thrilled to complement our business by acquiring another property portfolio that is high on quality and has a team of people to match.

“Their insight and knowledge of the area is a tremendous asset, and will ensure a smooth and seamless transfer for all clients.

“As a home-grown agency with strong Midlands roots, Redditch has long been an expansion target for us.

“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.

“Another advantage is that it also allows us to transfer our properties in and around Redditch and Bromsgrove to our new Redditch office to give landlords and tenants a larger base to operate from.”

He added: “We all wish Jeremy and his team every success as they move forward and concentrate on their residential sales specialism and other services.”

John Shepherd, whose six branches are now in Birmingham, Solihull, Shirley, Sutton Coldfield, Cannock and Redditch, became part of the progressive Lomond Group at end of 2020 when Lomond Capital and Linley & Simpson joined forces to co-create a new national lettings and sales business. It had been a key strand of Lomond Capital’s business since 2014.

The Lomond Group now has a combined portfolio of over 35,000 properties, worth around £8bn, under its management; and operates major hubs in private rental hotspots including Aberdeen, Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and York.

It has brought together some of the strongest letting and estate agency names on the UK High Street, including 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 its Scottish heartlands

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