Countrywide acquires property consultancy

26th Sep 2013 07:54

Britiain's biggest estate agent Countrywide said it was buying commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) for 34.1m pounds.LSH, a 241 year business, was bought in a management buyout from WS Atkins in 2007 which left it saddled with debt and resulted in it struggling to meet it debt service obligations.Countrywide said as part of the deal LSH would be discharged from any liability in respect of the legacy debt from the MBO.This is because LSH will first be sold to an affiliate of its lender and 20% shareholder Sankaty European Investments following "a process undertaken by an administrator" which is expected to take place on Thursday (September 26th).The deal, which will be funded by Countrywide's cash pile, will allow the estate agency giant to beef up its commercial property activities. It said: "There is clear growth potential in the UK commercial property market. The market is still fragmented and LSH, even as a scale commercial business, currently has less than a 3% market share, providing an opportunity for further market penetration."LSH has a range of blue chip clients as well as the BBC and more than half of all London Borough Councils. Its 2012 results showed an operating profit of £5m on sales of £64.1m.Shares in Countrywide were down 2.5p at 555.5p at 08:25 on Thursday.TB