Humberts expected to name buyer of troubled agency in next 48 hours

Estate Agent Today understands that Humberts will announce a possible buyer of some of its agency activities this week - on Wednesday or Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the company told EAT over the weekend that the announcement will be made later this week.

One senior Humberts spokesman has suggested that only part of the company may be sold; the rest may be effectively closed. 

The firm has made some 50 staff redundant and is known to be currently skirting around administration but is not formally at that status; it has asked administration specialists Begbies Traynor to find a buyer and, as this publication announced last week, Humberts claims to have had a large number of possible purchasers express an interest.

However, only two have been recommended for a possible deal, we understand: one is thought to be a private equity firm. However, the company is not commenting on the identify of any possible buyer.

Last week it was reported that Ian Westerling had resigned as Humberts managing director in March but returned to the company charged with the responsibility of securing a purchaser. 

Chestertons merged with Humberts in 2009 after both companies were reported to have had individual financial difficulties; they demerged in early 2014 with the two separate businesses creating limited companies under the Chesterton Global Ltd umbrella.