South: Romans merges with Leaders to create ‘super-agency’

Leading lettings agent Leaders has merged with Romans, one of the major property forces in the Thames Valley, to form Property Services Holdings, a business with a combined turnover of more than £100 million.

Leaders, with 118 branches, and Romans, with 27, will become one under a deal hatched by Bowmark Capital, which backed the MBO of Romans in 23013, and a buyout at Leaders three years earlier.

Bowmark, the mid-market private equity firm, will now have a group with over 40,000 properties under management, coupled with sales, mortgage and other divisions.

Joint chief executives of the new company will be Romans’ Peter Coles and Leaders’ Paul Weller.

Coles said: “With Bowmark’s backing, Romans has continued to expand across the south-east. The merger with Leaders gives us access to a national platform and deep buy-and-build expertise, and will create new opportunities for both businesses as we enter the next phase of growth.”