Why Sourced Is Spending £10 Million Buying Estate Agencies

Stephen Moss believes independent estate agencies are undervalued. So much so that Sourced Group expects to invest close to £10 million acquiring them by the end of the year.

But this isn’t simply about buying lettings books and bolting them onto a larger operation.

Through Sourced Living, Stephen is combining acquisitions with a franchise model that can fund 100% of the purchase for its franchisees. It’s an ambitious approach that has helped the network grow to more than 50 estate agency and lettings franchisees in just 18 months.

In this episode, Stephen shares his journey from taking a £10,000 pay cut to become a junior negotiator, to building a six-office agency with his dad, experiencing the consequences of the 2008 crash and ultimately creating Sourced Group, which now has more than 250 franchisees across property investment, finance, lettings and estate agency.

We discuss:

• Why Stephen believes estate agencies are currently undervalued
• Why buying an existing agency can make more sense than opening another branch
• How Sourced funds acquisitions for its franchisees
• Why people without agency experience must learn the business before taking one over
• What is motivating owners to sell, including retirement, compliance and the pace of technological change
• How AI is influencing some owners’ decisions about their future
• Why estate agency is entering a period of rapid consolidation
• Stephen’s ambition to grow Sourced to between 500 and 750 franchisees

This is a conversation about building, buying and eventually selling businesses, and what the next wave of estate agency ownership could look like.

Connect with Stephen Moss on LinkedIn.