Marsh & Parsons, the estate agency spearheaded by former Foxtons managing director Peter Rollings, is reportedly about to be sold to LSL, the firm that owns estate agency chains Your Move and Reeds Rains.
Two other contenders – both private equity firms – appear not to have been finally ruled out, but both Connells and Countrywide are thought to have fallen by the wayside.
If LSL captures what The Daily Telegraph yesterday described as a ‘jewel in the crown’, it will give the company an upmarket presence in the central London market – and an opportunity to challenge the likes of Foxtons itself, and Knight Frank
The sales price for Marsh & Parsons is a rumoured £52m.
The figure compares with the £5m that Rollings told EAT earlier this year had been paid for both his original acquisition of the firm in 2005 and that of Vansons a few months later. The price was less than the total of £8.4m that had been widely reported previously.
Rollings bought Marsh & Parsons, a traditional London agency, after he quit Foxtons after 20 years, because founder Jon Hunt had repeatedly refused him an equity share.
Rollings’ revenge could hardly speak louder, after he built Marsh & Parsons into a force to be reckoned with, upping its value ten-fold in six years – a period that included both a housing market collapse and a London-centric recovery.
One of the firm’s chief sales points is that half of its business is in the lucrative London lettings market.
Rollings’ original purchase was backed by Irish estate agency group Sherry Fitzgerald, a property firm set up and run by Mark FitzGerald, son of former Irish Prime Minister Dr Garret FitzGerald.
But the Irish estate agent has been under pressure to call in its huge asset after the Irish property crash which has seen up to 60% wiped off house values in its home market.
Sherry FitzGerald has a majority 72% stake in Marsh & Parsons, with 23% owned by Rollings and the 5% balance by sales director Liza-Jane Kelly.
Sherry appointed Cavendish Corporate finance to oversee the sale at the beginning of the summer. With details still to be finalised, final negotiations could be over Rollings’ stake in the company and his continuing involvement.
He has previously made clear his appetite to continue hands-on in the estate agency market.
The final three bidders for Marsh & Parsons are LSL, Graphite and Bowmark Capital.
It is understood that Connells and Countrywide have been eliminated from the race, along with two other private equity firms.
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Comments
Indeed good to see PE companies have learned nothing in recent years and still keen to spunk other peoples hard earned up the wall!
Expect sanity to prevail at LSL though.
Either the advisers/owners are trying to talk this up with a bit of spin or LSL could blow all the cred they gained in the outstanding HPS deal they did a few years back?
£52m please !?!? - if as stated 50% of M&P's T/O is Lettings then their sales offices are only averaging about £800k and thats assuming the balance is all sales and there is no F/S or Professional services?
No doubt the past 12 months has entailed careful planning/activity by the advisers to ensure that 2010's numbers will generate max sale price - fair enough thats there job - but by this time next year Fernando Torres will look like a better investment than £50m+ for M & P will.
You've got to feel sorry for the existing Marsh & Parsons staff, especially the ones who came on board to follow Peter Rolling's vision and dream...to end up working for LSL - oh dear.
A great shame that such a Wonderful firm as Marsh Parsons is being sold to a corporate battery farm.