Isle of Wight estate agent, Hose Rhodes Dickson, is on the brink of being bought by a major mainland property firm.
The company - which has been an independent agency for more than 30 years - is understood to be joining forces with Leaders Romans Group (LRG).
The Hose Rhodes Dickson brand will remain on the Island, for now.
LRG is one of the UK’s largest property services groups, originally formed by the merger of Leaders, Romans and Boyer in 2016, but has since been joined by many other brands and disciplines. Backed by private equity firm, Platinum Equity, it has a network of over 219 branches across the country, employing over 2,600 people.
Leadership of Hose Rhodes Dickson will remain on the Island, with Regional Lettings Director, Matthew White, Regional Sales Director, Marcus Waldron and Director of New Homes and Commercial Property Sales, Jamie Busby, staying with the company in their roles.
Despite staff at HRD being told about the major business change last Thursday (21), a spokesperson for Leaders Romans Group (LRG) wouldn't confirm the purchase, saying:
“We have ambitious plans for growth here at LRG and core to that is our acquisitions strategy.
“As such, we welcome discussion with a range of businesses and brands in the property sector that express an interest in working with us. At this stage we are unable to confirm any acquisition as these matters are subject to the exchange of contracts.”
“We remain transparent in our operations and are happy to share news of any future acquisitions when they complete.”
Staff at Hose Rhodes Dickson have been told they will continue to work with the same, familiar, team and their contact phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same.
Founders, Jeff Hose, Richard Dickson and Mark Rhodes have all now retired, after many successful years in estate agency.
The company currently has offices in Newport, Ryde, Cowes, East Cowes, Shanklin, Freshwater, Bembridge and Ventnor.
It's understood that the independent 'in-house' financial services, Jon Shears Mortgage Advice - which is currently based at HRD's Newport office - is seeking new premises.
HRD Auction Rooms is not affected by the takeover.
Posting on its Facebook page, HRD Auction Rooms said:
"In light of the recent news that our friends - the Isle of Wight's largest independent estate agents, Hose Rhodes Dickson - are being taken over by the mainland-based Leaders Romans Group, we wanted to assure all our bidders, buyers and sellers that HRD Auction Rooms are, and remain, an independent, privately-owned Isle of Wight business."
HRD Auction Rooms Managing Director, Warren Riches, added:
"When we formed HRD Auction Rooms, it was always as a stand-alone business to give us the freedom and ability to run it the way we wanted. It will very much be business as usual for us here - and following the recent success stories of the Chinese box selling for £152,000 and a pair of Chinese bowls selling for £130,000 we are positive the future is bright."
*UPDATED
*The Directors at Hose Rhodes Dickson said:
“We can confirm that we have agreed to a partnership with Leaders Romans Group, which is due to complete next month.
"We want to reassure our customers and the residents across the Isle of Wight that any change of ownership will not affect our name, our values or our knowledgeable local team.
"Our customers can expect the same high-quality service at every point of their experience with us. Hose Rhodes Dickson will always be a local company, led by Isle of Wight based directors, who are committed to supporting the community.”
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