Countrywide is one of the UK's largest integrated property services group including residential property surveying, a collaboration of

estate agents An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...

, and

corporate services Corporate services or business services are activities which combine or consolidate certain enterprise-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge, best practices, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) ...

. It employs circa 8,500 personnel nationwide, working across 650+ estate agency or lettings offices operating under 50+ brands. Countrywide is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Connells Group Connells Limited, trading as Connells Group, is a British estate agency and property services company headquartered in Leighton Buzzard, and a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society. History In 1936 the first Connells estate agency branch was ...

History

In 1986, financial services company Hambros plc, having de-merged its banking arm, acquired two estate agents, Bairstow Eves and Mann & Co, to form a new company called Hambro Countrywide plc, which was listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

. In 1988, the company created Hambro Assured, then the UK's largest life insurance broker. The group then grew through acquisition, buying Nationwide estate agents and surveyors from

Nationwide Building Society Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual organisation, mutual financial institution, the seventh largest co-operative banking, cooperative financial institution and the largest building society in the world with over 16 million members. ...

in 1994, Spencers from National and Provincial Building Society in 1995 and London firms Faron Sutaria, PKL and John D Wood & Co. in 1997. In 1998 the business was renamed Countrywide Assured plc and demerged from Hambros plc. After creating a franchise opportunity under the Bairstow Eves brand, the group then restarted its acquisition trail acquiring

Friends Provident Friends’ Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Based in Bradford, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century Insurance ...

estate agents and surveyors (in return for a long term licence to resell Friends Provident financial products) in August 2002. Friends Provident Estate Agencies operated 104 offices across the South of England, trading as: Fulfords, Chappell & Matthews, Palmer Snell and Carson & Company and had been acquired by Friends Provident as an 80-strong chain in 1998 as part of their takeover of London and Manchester Group plc.Cicutti, Nic. "Friends set for pounds 750m L&M takeover". The Independent, 18 August 1998. Available online a

Accessed 4 June 2019."Friends Provident plc Secures Exclusive Distribution Agreement with UK's Leading Estate Agency Group". RNS Press Release, 22 August 2002. Available online a

Accessed 4 June 2019. The life assurance business was demerged as Chesnara plc in May 2004. In 2004 it acquired Freeman Foreman group as well as the estate agency business of

Bradford and Bingley Building Society Bradford & Bingley plc was a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. The bank was formed in December 2000 by demutualisation of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society following a vote of the building society's mem ...

. This business had been originally formed as Black Horse Agencies Group by

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...

in 1982, and purchased as 370 strong chain (including TSB Property Services and Slater Hogg & Howison) by Bradford and Bingley from the then owners Lloyds TSB in April 1998."New Stable for Black Horse". The Argus, 3 April 1998. Available online a

Accessed 28 April 2017. Slater Hogg & Howison had been acquired by TSB Scotland in 1988Thickett, Robert. "50 years in finance". Mortgage Strategy, 12 November 2012. Available online a

Accessed 28 April 2017. having been established in 1975 by Roy Slater, Iain Hogg and Geoff Howison."Founder calls for buyout at Slater Hogg Howison". The Scotsman, 23 May 2004. Available online a

Accessed 28 April 2017. The Black Horse name was dropped by Bradford and Bingley in 1999."Bradford & Bingley to modernise image". Design Week, 8 May 1998. Available online a

Accessed 28 April 2017. In 2007, Countrywide was 100% acquired by

Apollo Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...

for a sum over £1bn, and de-listed from the London Stock Exchange. Following debt restructuring, the owners included Apollo Management,

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...

and

Alchemy Partners Alchemy Partners is a British private equity firm, which specialises in investing in distressed and undervalued or underperforming businesses and other special situations through debt and equity throughout Europe. Alchemy was founded in 1997 b ...

. In March 2013, Countrywide plc was re-listed on the London Stock Exchange. In November 2013, Countrywide acquired national commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). Countrywide acquired the southwest Wales estate agency John Francis in 2015. In January 2018, an unscheduled profits warning sent Countrywide's share price plummeting by nearly 19 per cent, and CEO

Alison Platt Alison Platt (born February 1962) is a British businesswoman. She was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Countrywide, the UK's largest estate agency group from 2014 to January 2018, resigning after overseeing a 90% fall in the company's share ...

stepped down, to be replaced by

Peter Long Peter Long (born 4 June 1952) is an English businessman. He is the chairman of Royal Mail and Countrywide. Early years Long was born in Malta, as his father was serving in the Royal Navy. He attended Price's Grammar School in Fareham, Hampsh ...

, appointed executive chairman until a new CEO is found. In August 2018, the share price fell by 60% after an emergency cash call (in the form of a

rights issue A rights issue or rights offer is a dividend of subscription rights to buy additional securities in a company made to the company's existing security holders. When the rights are for equity securities, such as shares, in a public company, it can b ...

), and after having downgrading profit forecasts four times in eight months. In December 2020

agree to buy the company at a valuation of circa £82 million. On 8 March 2021

acquired Countrywide Plc.

Brands

*Abbotts *Accord Lets *Alan de Maid *Andrew Reeves *Andrews Butler *Ashby Lowery *Ashton Burkinshaw *Austin & Wyatt *Bairstow Eves *Beresford Adams *Bridgfords *Buckell & Ballard *Blundells *Carson & Co. *Chappell & Matthews *CityLets York *Clive Watkin Partnership *Country & Waterside Prestige *Countrywide North *Cryers *Dixons *Entwistle Green *Finders Keepers *Frank Innes *Freeman Foreman *Fulfords *Gascoigne-Pees *Geering & Colyer *Greene & Co *

Hamptons International Hamptons is an estate agent (real estate broker) that has a UK network of more than 93 branches and an international affiliate partner network of over 7,000 offices. Hamptons' parent company, Countrywide, was acquired by The Connells Group in A ...

*Hetheringtons *John Curtis *John Francis * John D Wood & Co. *King & Chasemore *Lambert Smith Hampton *Letters of Distinction *Locke & England *Mann *Miller Countrywide *Morris Dibben *Palmer Snell *Preston Bennett *PKL *R.A. Bennett & Partners *Regal Residential Lettings *Rentons Countrywide *Slater Hogg & Howison *SLM *Spencers *Stratton Creber *Sutton Kersh *Taylors *Tucker Gardner *Underwoods Town & County *Urban Spaces *Watson Bull & Porter *Wilson Peacock *Woods

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Apollo Global Management companies Real estate companies established in 1986 Property services companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Chelmsford Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom