Telford estate agent changes hands as part of major takeover deal
An estate agents chain with a branch in Telford has been bought out in a move which creates the UK's largest independent agency group.
Butters john bee has been sold to the Spicerhaart Group, which already includes the haart, Darlows, Haybrook, Felicity J Lord and Chewton Rose chains, plus the iSold online brand.
It will bring a Shropshire estate agent into the group for the first time, in the form of the butters john bee branch at Telford's Southwater Square.
Butters john bee managing director James Beardmore said: “This is a very exciting time for us as it means we will be able to offer additional services to our customers and more career development opportunities, training and rewards to our 200 staff.”
Butters john bee was founded in 1856 and will retain the name at its offices, which also include those in Crewe and Nantwich in Cheshire, Cannock and Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, and close to its head office in Stoke-on-Trent.
The two firms offer similar services, including residential sales, lettings, conveyancing, surveying and financial services, while bjb also auctions residential properties and sells, lets and manages commercial property.
Spicerhaart also offers corporate sales through its Blackpool office and has a land and new homes division.
Paul Smith, Spicerhaart’s chief executive, said: “Butters john bee is an extremely well run estate agency business and we are delighted to welcome the bjb team into our family.
"Both firms are award-winning and we will be sharing best practice across both organisations.
“As far as the customers and staff are concerned, it will be business as usual, but with additional telephone support outside normal working hours, from 8am until 10pm, for all our customers."
Spicerhaart now has 200 branches with 2,000 staff nationwide. The company was founded in 1989 by Paul Smith and his father Alick.
