Franchisee scales Devon estate agency to 408 properties with Complete deal

What's the deal? Local businesswoman Sara Watkins-Schmidt has acquired CompleteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Estate Agency, a four-branch operator covering residential sales and lettings across Devon. The deal adds 375 managed properties and 23 employees to her business, lifting her portfolio from 33 to 408 properties.

What changes? Little, for now. Complete keeps its brand, its four branches in Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, and Exeter (Cranbrook), and all 23 staff. The agency also retains its foothold in the new-build sales market.

What's the endgame? Watkins-Schmidt plans to grow both sales and lettings across Devon. "This isn't about coming in and changing everything," she said, adding that residential sales is "an important part of the business."

Her route here was fast. She entered the sector after redundancy in 2022, launched a lettings business, then became a Sourced LivingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → franchisee in spring 2024, building organically to 33 managed properties before this acquisition.

Why now? Sourced Living, part of Sourced Property GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, supported the deal and sees more like it ahead. Founder and chief executive officer Stephen Moss pointed to established owners weighing succession while ambitious operators hunt for scale.

The signal: Moss framed the acquisition as a template: established businesses entering a "next phase" as newer operators buy ready-made teams, portfolios, and infrastructure. In a fragmented agency market, buying scale can beat building it, and franchise networks are positioning to broker the handovers.

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