Shrewsbury and Ludlow estate agents taken over by finance giant
Property group Strutt & Parker, which has two offices in Shropshire, has been snapped up by financial services giant BNP Paribas.
Strutt & Parker is one of the UK's biggest independent property partnerships, but will be merged with BNP Paribas'sUK real estate subsidiary next month.
The deal will see Strutt's residential, rural, development and planning teams – which include those in the Shrewsbury and Ludlow offices – remain under their current brand.
The commercial arm of the business will operate under the BNP Paribas Real Estate brand.
Thierry Laroue-Pont, chief executive of BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: "We are delighted to have this opportunity to create a new major real estate player that combines the skills of our two companies.
"This combination will enable us to offer our clients, all over the world, a broadened and deeper expertise as well as new, even more innovative services and solutions.
"In this new stage of development, we shall carefully take into consideration the expectations of both groups’ employees and clients.”
Overall, Strutt has 60 offices across the UK. As well as the two in Shropshire, in Shrewsbury's Theatre Royal building in Shoplatch and the Bull Ring in Ludlow, it has an office in Chester.
Andy Martin, senior partner at Strutt & Parker, added: "This merger not only creates attractive commercial real estate opportunities, but also opens up new prospects in the rural and residential sectors thanks to the size and strength of the group that we are creating together.
"The expertise of Strutt & Parker, the second biggest player in the UK rural market and third in residential, will represent a new service offering for the UK subsidiary of BNP Paribas Real Estate, thereby enabling it to broaden its range of services.
"The merger will create additional services for all types of assets, thus offering clients real added value.
"Both companies want to keep the customer at the centre of their decisions, by focusing on the excellence of the services provided. This commitment is undertaken equally by all the teams of BNP Paribas Real Estate and Strutt & Parker."