Countrywide acquires Curtis & Bains

Countrywide has acquired Manchester-based estate and lettings agency Curtis & Bains through its sales and lettings division Bridgfords.

Curtis & Bains was established in 2006 and manages nearly 1,000 rental properties throughout Manchester. The Curtis & Bains office in Deansgate will remain, rebranded as Bridgfords in May. Curtis & Bains' property management team will relocate from Deansgate to Bridgfords' office in the Hacienda building in Whitworth Street West.

All 14 staff will be transferring from Curtis & Bains to Countrywide with no redundancies.

Jane O'Donnell, sales director at Countrywide Residential Lettings, said: "As the UK's most successful lettings business, we continuously look to expand our market-leading lettings offering further. Curtis & Bains is a significant strategic acquisition for Countrywide Residential Lettings and one that gives us a really solid platform for further growth in Manchester and Cheshire."

Curtis & Bains director and co-founder Ged McPartlin will be taking the role of lettings director at Countrywide.

McPartlin commented: "The decision to sell Curtis & Bains was a long and carefully considered process and I am glad to say we certainly chose the right company to best look after our clients and staff going forward. The time was right to allow the staff to progress within their careers and for us to offer a greater level of customer service to our clients, Countrywide was the perfect choice."

The acquisition follows Countrywide's purchase of commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton in September 2013.