ESTATE agency chain Fine and Country has agreed to be sold to The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) in a deal worth roughly £20m in the sector's latest tie-up.

London-listed TPFG has agreed to pay £15m on completion of the deal and a further £5m on the first anniversary.

The tie-up is set to create a combined network of more than 1,946 outlets and give TPFG an international footprint for the first time, with Fine and Country operating in 193 UK locations and 65 locations across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

The two businesses are due to keep operating under their existing brands.

TPFG saw revenue of £61.5m and a pretax profit of £18.1m last year, while the assets being acquired generated £13.3m in revenue and £3.3m in profit.

It is the latest example of consolidation within the sector as it grapples with a housing market downturn and looming cuts to interest rates fuel a pickup in dealmaking activity. Other firms subject to takeover speculation include Strutt & Parker,

Lomond Group and London-listed Foxtons.

The news comes just months after TPFG, which has a market capitalisation of £252.4m, agreed to a merger with AIM-listed lettings company Belvoir in January, which it completed in March.

Iain McKenzie, chief executive of the Guild and Fine & Country, said: "We have a proven track record of delivering innovation and marketing services across our network, and as a consequence of now being part of a larger group, our customers will benefit from existing supplier partnerships, allowing us to introduce significant additional benefits."

Gareth Samples, CEO of TPFG, added: "It further enhances TPFG's recurring revenue streams, adds the additional dimension of licensing to its platform and one significant complementary service, printed marketing materials."

Shares in TPFG closed up 6.79 per cent.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper