Four-branch Complete Estate Agency has been acquired by local businesswoman Sara Watkins-Schmidt (main picture) in a deal that adds 375 managed properties to her existing lettings portfolio.
The acquisition takes Watkins-Schmidt’s managed portfolio from 33 to 408 properties and gives her an established platform from which to expand across Devon.
Complete will retain its existing brand, four branches and 23 employees following the deal.
The agency operates from Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Cranbrook in Exeter, covering residential sales and lettings as well as the new-build market.
ACQUISITION-LED GROWTH
Watkins-Schmidt has a background in sales and marketing and became a business owner following redundancy in 2022.
She launched a lettings operation as a Sourced Living franchisee in spring 2024, growing the portfolio organically to 33 managed properties before completing the Complete acquisition with the backing of Sourced Living, part of Sourced Property Group.
She now plans to expand both the sales and lettings sides of Complete while retaining its existing infrastructure.
Watkins-Schmidt says: “Complete was exactly the type of business I was looking for. It has an experienced team, established branches and a really strong local reputation.
“The Complete name is staying, the branches are staying and the existing team is staying. Residential sales is an important part of the business and something both the team and I are passionate about.”
SUCCESSION OPPORTUNITIES
Sourced Property Group believes acquisitions could become an increasingly important growth strategy for ambitious agency operators as established owners consider succession.
Stephen Moss, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sourced Property Group, says: “There is an interesting dynamic developing in the agency market.
“You have established owners who have spent years building successful businesses and are starting to think about succession and what comes next.
“At the same time, there are ambitious operators looking for opportunities to scale, and acquisitions can provide a way of doing that much more quickly than organic growth alone.”
Watkins-Schmidt will now work with Complete’s existing management and branch teams to increase the agency’s presence across Devon.
