Bowmark Capital backs £50m MBO of property services business Romans

The buy-out team is led by Romans’ Group MD, Peter Coles, a highly-respected industry executive, who has been with the company for 25 years.

Founded in 1987, Romans has grown from a single site in Bracknell to an extensive network of 18 branches across Berkshire, North Hampshire and Surrey. The company provides a comprehensive range of estate agency, lettings agency and associated property services to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants. It has an outstanding reputation for service amongst its customers and throughout the property industry as a whole, and has won the UK Estate Agency of the Year award for the past two years. The group also includes Boyer Planning, a town planning firm with five regional offices across the South of England and Wales.

The UK residential estate agency market was worth £8.6 billion in 2012. It has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8% since 2009 as a result of steady growth in residential lettings and a gradual pick-up in the sales market, which is expected to accelerate as the UK economic recovery gathers pace.

Romans has achieved impressive growth in revenue and profits in recent years, both organically and through the acquisition of lettings branches and portfolios. Bowmark will provide significant additional capital to support the roll-out of new offices and future acquisitions.