Birmingham-based UK property management agency Fishers has completed its first acquisition, securing local counterpart Whittle Estates & Property Services with the support of a £345,000 (approximately €413,000) loan from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, in a deal that underscores the continued consolidation trend within the UK's residential property management sector. Business Sale Report reported that the funding was delivered through fund manager Frontier Development Capital and will assist management in integrating the two businesses and continuing Fishers' expansion.

Business Sale Report reported that prior to the deal, Fishers employed 12 staff and managed around 600 properties on behalf of more than 250 landlords, with the acquisition increasing its portfolio to approximately 750 properties across more than 350 landlords.

Founded in Birmingham city centre in 1913, Fishers built its reputation through property lettings in the city's Edwardian suburbs, remaining under family ownership for more than 80 years before current owners Dean Taylor and Kay Venables acquired the business through a management buyout in 2020.

Since the MBO, the firm has expanded further, opening a second office in Stourbridge to extend its reach into the Black Country. The acquisition of Whittle Estates represents the next step in that growth trajectory.

Ryan Cartwright of Frontier Development Capital described Fishers as a stalwart of the Birmingham property scene, noting that under Taylor and Venables the company had entered a new phase of growth.

Venables said she and Taylor are keen to expand the Fishers brand while continuing to provide the same personal service, adding that the firm has retained the ethos and values of a family business.

Find out more about Fishers' landmark acquisition and what it means for Birmingham's property management market.