Falling sales forces UK's largest search firm to act

The collapse in transactions has led the UK’s largest property search company to consolidate some of its operations.

PSG – which is involved in one-quarter of all UK property transactions – has acquired two of its Yorkshire-based operations which were trading together as one of its franchisees.

PSG, a stock exchange company, has now merged its new acquisition with another of its wholly-owned franchises, saying that the housing downturn was behind the move.

PSG paid £725,000 in cash and shares for Chalenor Legal Services and Yorkshire Home Inspections. They had been operating together as a PSG franchise, trading as PSG Doncaster, since 2004.

The companies provide property information services for East Yorkshire, and PSG Doncaster has a turnover of around £900,000.

PSG has now joined it with its wholly-owned West Yorkshire franchise in Huddersfield to form PSG Yorkshire.

PSG, which has more than 100 offices, provides company and property searches, as well as coal mining and drainage reports, and is involved with HIP provision through the HIP Alliance.

Tweedie Brown, deputy chairman of PSG Solutions, told  Estate Agent Today: “The acquisition of PSG Doncaster and subsequent merger of all back office facilities with PSG Huddersfield was an initiative prompted in part by the housing market downturn and the focus on operational efficiency in a marketplace with greatly reduced numbers of transactions.

“This type of merger and acquisition, along with arrangements between PSG local offices to outsource administrative services to each other, has been happening within the PSG Network over the last 18 months or so.

“It is a further example of the robustness of the PSG business model, which continues to go from strength to strength, no matter what market conditions bring.”