Takeover deal sees Scots property firm hit 50,000-home milestone

A Scottish property firm has acquired the residential factoring arm of a rival in a deal which takes the number of homes on its books over the 50,000 mark.
James Gibb's CEO Douglas Weir expects the factoring market to see significant consolidation in the years ahead.James Gibb's CEO Douglas Weir expects the factoring market to see significant consolidation in the years ahead.
James Gibb's CEO Douglas Weir expects the factoring market to see significant consolidation in the years ahead.

James Gibb Residential Factors has struck the deal with Aberdeen-based commercial property consultancy FG Burnett as it also eyes opportunities to expand into England amid consolidation in the sector.

The acquisition adds 3,000 properties under management to James Gibb’s portfolio and means the Edinburgh-headquartered company has tripled the number of properties it manages across Aberdeen in the past two years. It has taken on three new staff to handle the growth and has doubled its office space in the city centre.

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Douglas Weir, CEO of James Gibb, said: "We have been consolidating the factoring sector in Scotland carefully and this is another statement move as we aim to create genuine competition and differentiation in the market.

“It brings together two significant residential factoring portfolios in the North of Scotland, which can only benefit property owners. With a professional central services team assisting local operations, we are well placed to deliver superb customer service.”

Richard Noble, managing director at FG Burnett, added: “It was important to FG Burnett that the portfolio transferred to a manager of real quality to the benefit of the developments we factored. This allows us to focus on growing our commercial property management portfolio together with our other core services including agency, building surveying, valuation and rating and we are very excited about that prospect.”

James Gibb has grown more than 12-fold in the last ten years. In 2012, the business had 4,000 units under management when it was acquired by Strathspey Capital, its parent company. The business is seeking further opportunities to grow through acquisition, including setting its sights on key cities in England, such as Birmingham and Manchester.

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“This is an exciting time for our industry where consolidation of existing factoring businesses will lead to improved resources and enhanced technological capabilities. We have seen the lettings sector consolidate dramatically and we expect to see factoring go through a similar process of change,” added Weir.

In 2019, James Gibb acquired Life Property Management in a deal which created the second largest factoring business in Scotland.

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