Property rentals agency makes first acquisition after a century in businessProperty rentals agency makes first acquisition after a century in business

Fishers, which is based in Harborne and was founded over a century ago, has acquired another local agency, Whittle Estates & Property Services. The loan from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, through fund manager Frontier Development Capital (FDC), will enable management to integrate the two businesses and continue its expansion.

Fishers, which employs 12 staff, currently manages almost 600 properties on behalf of over 250 landlords. The acquisition will bring the total to around 750 properties and over 350 landlords. It will also enable Whittle’s owners to focus on their property sales business, Hadleigh Estates.

Fishers was established by George Fisher in 1913 in Birmingham city centre, and built its business letting properties in the affluent Edwardian suburbs. The agency remained in family ownership for over 80 years and still retains close ties with the Fisher family.

The current owners, Dean Taylor and Kay Venables, are long-standing employees who took over in a management buy-out in 2020. They have recently opened a second office in Stourbridge to serve the Black Country and are on the look-out for other growth opportunities.

Kay Venables, Director, said: “Dean and I are keen to expand the Fishers brand while continuing to provide the same personal service. Fishers has retained the ethos and values of a family business and we have Fisher family members amongst our client base. We see ourselves as custodians of the business and hope it will still be thriving in another 100 years’ time.”

Ryan Cartwright of Frontier Development Capital added: “Fishers is a stalwart of the Birmingham property scene and under the ownership of Kay and Dean, has entered a new phase of growth. We are pleased to support their ambitions.”

Paul Varley at Navigate Commercial Finance provided fundraising advice to the company.

The £400m Midlands Engine Investment Fund II covers the entire Midlands region and provides equity investment up to £5m and debt finance from £25k to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The purpose of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the Midlands. The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for smaller businesses in the Midlands, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.