Lomond has acquired a North Yorkshire estate and letting agent marking the firm’s 60th acquisition since LDC’s investment in 2020, as well as the 100th acquisition since the original business was founded in 2010.
The acquisition of Joplings, one of North Yorkshire’s oldest independent agencies, will see Lomond’s Linley and Simpson brand take over the business.
Whilst it’s one of the smaller deals Lomond has done to date, the deal itself is a significant one for a number of reasons.
Joplings is a well established business and Linley and Simpson’s primary competitor in the Ripon area, meaning that with its acquisition, Linley and Simpson is set to become the predominant presence within the local property market.
Linley and Simpson will take on all of the properties currently under management with Joplings, pushing Linley and Simpson to in excess of 15,000 properties under management, with the brand also taking the existing Joplings sales pipeline.
The deal also marks a very significant milestone for Lomond’s Acquisition Director, Robert Hamilton.
As one of the founding partners of the original Lomond business, Lomond Capital, in 2010, Robert Hamilton oversaw 40 acquisitions across the UK, helping to build the business from the ground up across a number of market regions.
Since Lomond Capital merged with Linley and Simpson in December 2020 to form the current Lomond business, Robert has managed the acquisition of a further 60 businesses across the UK, with the Joplings deal being Robert’s 100th.
Lomond’s Acquisitions Director, Robert Hamilton, said: “We’ve embarked on an incredible journey since the early days of Lomond Capital and I’m immensely proud to have overseen the acquisition of 100 businesses to date, from Scotland to the South coast, all of which have been strategically important in realising our aggressive growth ambitions.
“The credit goes to my highly professional team and the market leading acquisitions process that we’ve implemented. We’ve always prided ourselves on being a people first business and this starts with our employees and extends right through to our customers and the sellers of the businesses we acquire.
“For a seller, having your business acquired is an incredibly proud, life changing event, that allows them to realise the value they’ve built through sheer hard work and determination. It’s an intensely personal experience and one that needs to be recognised, acknowledged and managed with great care and respect.
“As the acquiring business, we’re an integral part of this and it leads to very strong relationships, so much so that I was even invited to the wedding of one of our business sellers.”
CEO of Lomond Yorkshire, Martin Elliott, said: “The acquisition of Joplings is one that has been ten years in the making and holds high strategic importance for the Linley and Simpson brand.
“We’re acquiring an extremely well-established and respected local business and, in doing so, we are cementing our position as the leading agent in the local area.”
