LSL pay £9.1 Million for a percentage of Colchester based Mortgage Company.

February 22, 2016

I spent a leisurely afternoon last Friday, after the news was made public, with one of the smaller share holders of the very recent LSL deal to purchase 65% of the Colchester based Mortgage First business, and I rejoice with them in the rewards that sticking at a business and within a industry sector for a number of years really does pay off.

LSL property services, has been reported to have taken a 65% interest in the company Group First Limited which is a local business to us in Colchester offering mortgages and protection advice for mostly news homes. A total of £9.1 million in cash will be paid initially with a further amount to complete the purchase in 2017.

Paul Maston, CEO of Group First Limited, will remain as CEO (he founded the business in 1988). There were other share holders involved during the company’s journey to it’s current position.

Ian Crabb who is the LSL Group CEO, is quoted as saying: “This investment supports LSL’s strategy to grow long term profitability in the provision of residential property services in the UK, by identifying value enhancing opportunities. Further, the investment strengthens LSL’s relationships with its key house builder clients.”

Report on London Stock Exchange website can be viewed here.

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

House price growth remained resilient in April

UK annual house price growth picked up to 3.0% in April, from 2.2% in March House prices were up 0.4% month on month Headlines Apr-26 Mar-26 Monthly Index* 554.8 552.7 Monthly Change* 0.4% 0.9% Annual Change 3.0% 2.2% Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) £278,880 £277,186 * Seasonally adjusted figure (note that monthly % changes are…
Read More →
Breaking News

Homeowners shift mortgage strategy amid economic uncertainty

Middle East conflict prompts Brits to rethink housing plans 27 per cent of homeowners report overpaying on their mortgage to get ahead of potential future interest rate rises 20 per cent of those remortgaging are looking to lock in a new rate as soon as possible in case of future volatility Barclays Mortgage data shows…
Read More →
Breaking News

Today is the day your rights change: New Renters’ Rights rules now in force for tenants across England

Today marks a major change for tenants across England as the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 comes into force, significantly strengthening rights and changing how renting works in practice. From today, the long-standing system of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions ends, meaning tenants can no longer be removed without a specific legal reason.…
Read More →
Home and Living

Mould Tops List of Bathroom Red Flags For Homebuyers

Mould, Space & Water Pressure: 3 Bathroom Deal-breakers Affecting House Sales This Spring   Almost 9 in 10 (88%) Brits say at least one bathroom issue would put them off making an offer on a house.   Mould (60%), lack of space (44%), and water pressure (37%) are the top three deal-breakers, with concern intensifying…
Read More →
Home and Living

10 Common Carpet Stains and How to Remove Them

Carpets rarely get dirty in one obvious moment. It’s usually something you don’t notice right away. A bit of coffee in the morning when you’re half awake. Someone walks in with slightly wet shoes. Something small gets dropped during dinner and wiped quickly, but not completely. None of it feels important at the time. Then,…
Read More →
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Industry Response to Bank of England Rate Hold

The Bank of England has just announced its decision to hold the base rate at 3.75%. This decision comes as a result of wider economic uncertainty and inflation (CPI) increasing to 3.3% in March and remaining above the Bank’s 2.0% target.   Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert “A Bank Rate hold is actually positive news…
Read More →