Dwelly has made a strong start to the year, completing three acquisitions already, including its first move into the London market with the addition of Eden Harper.
Off the back of a £69m funding raise and with close to 13,000 properties now under management, we’ve been approached by a growing number of agency owners who assume that, because we have capital, we’re now in the market to acquire anything and everything.
That isn’t the case. We’ve always been highly selective when it comes to the business we acquire and the criteria we judge them against hasn’t changed just because we’ve raised.
Of course, the numbers need to stack up. A business has to be commercially viable, with a stable portfolio and consistent revenue. If it isn’t bringing in business, it’s unlikely to be attractive from an investment standpoint. But that’s only part of the picture.
CULTURE AND REPUTATION
What we look for first is something far less tangible, but far more important: presence, culture and reputation.
We focus on local, independent letting agencies that have spent years embedded within their communities.
The ones who know their patch inside out. The ones landlords trust, and the ones tenants come back to.
It’s not about how many branches you have, although scale can demonstrate strength. It’s about how that business has been built, and more importantly, who has built it. Because ultimately, the people are the business.
“Too often, we see acquisitions where the end result is predictable.”
Too often, we see acquisitions where the end result is predictable. A larger corporate buys a well-run agency, strips it back, reduces headcount, and overlays its own operating model. The original business becomes little more than a shell, hollowed out and repurposed.
That’s not how we operate. At Dwelly, the people are the prize. We’re not looking to replace what makes a business successful, we’re looking to amplify it.
Our model is built around acquiring already outstanding agencies and helping them accelerate, not absorbing them into something unrecognisable.
That’s where technology comes in. There’s been a lot of noise around AI in the property sector, with some suggesting it will replace agents altogether.
“The biggest challenge facing agents today is inefficiency.”
In reality, the opposite is true. The biggest challenge facing agents today isn’t automation, it’s inefficiency. Too much time is spent on repetitive admin, fragmented systems and manual processes that limit how effectively a team can operate.
When we integrate our technology into the agencies we acquire, the impact is immediate. Admin workloads reduce, processes become seamless, and teams are freed up to focus on what they do best, building relationships, advising clients and driving growth.
We’ve seen agencies reduce time to let to a matter of days and resolve maintenance significantly faster, not by replacing people, but by enabling them to work at a higher level.
And in the current market, that matters more than ever.
With the Renters’ Rights Act reshaping the sector, agents are under increasing pressure to manage compliance, communicate clearly with landlords and tenants, and deliver a higher standard of service, all while margins are being squeezed. The agencies that will thrive are those that can operate efficiently without compromising on quality.
BUY AND EMPOWER
That’s why our approach is simple: buy and empower. We retain the brand, the team and the local expertise. We strengthen the infrastructure behind the scenes. And we give good businesses the tools they need to become even better.
So if you’re an agency owner thinking about your next step, the question isn’t whether there’s money in the market – It’s whether your business is one that’s worth backing.
Because the best acquisitions aren’t built on capital alone, they’re built on culture, people and a track record of doing things the right way.
Sam Humphreys is Head of M&A at Dwelly
Read more about Dwelly HERE.
