Heaton & Partners, the prominent London and country property search agency, which was established four years ago, has expanded into the north of England by merging with renowned residential expert, Phil Martin of AcQuire Property. This will see Heaton & Partners now cover prime northern property hotspots including Cheshire, Manchester, Liverpool and the Lake District.
Martin worked for the original Garrington Home Finders alongside Phil Spencer, of TV’s “Location, Location, Location” programme for five years from 2004, then the follow-on company Garrington Property Finders before he set up AcQuire in 2015. Martin specialises in acting for buyers in prime residential property acquisition, ranging from luxury city centre apartments, through property investment portfolios to multimillion pound country houses. Prior to this, Martin held a career in IS/IT, with senior roles at global companies including IBM, Ernst & Young and Reebok International.
Martin will work with Edward Heaton, founder of Heaton & Partners, to grow the property investment side of the business, encouraging clients to focus on key northern cities such as Manchester and Liverpool as well as Prime Central London. Rents are forecast to grow by 7 per cent in London but by almost 18 per cent in the next five years in Manchester and Liverpool*.
Phil Martin, now a partner at Heaton & Partners, comments: “This is the time for savvy businesses like Heaton & Partners to look north. The north west has become an increasingly attractive property investment opportunity in the last few years; with Manchester particularly going through a boom. High profile companies are looking to relocate their operations to the north; the expansion of both Manchester and Liverpool airports brings new opportunities from afar, and HS2 will cut travel to London to an hour. I am delighted to be helping Heaton & Partners expand into one of the fastest growing economic regions of the UK outside London.”
Edward Heaton, founder of Heaton & Partners commented: “Having Phil operating in the major Northern hotspots is essential to the future of our business. Until the UK leaves the EU next March, house price growth is expected to continue to be stronger away from higher value areas like London and the south east. More of our clients are now considering the north west as an alternative to London. Interest domestically and from overseas has surged as investors look for alternative investment opportunities outside the capital.”
