Laing+Simmons bought by Canberra agency Independent Property Group
Laing+Simmons, the 47-office NSW-based franchise group, has been acquired by Canberra’s largest real estate company, Independent Property Group. No sale price has been given.
Independent Property Group chief executive John Runko hopes it’s a good cultural fit, which would help bolster his company's geographic reach, especially when it comes to services such as strata management, project marketing and commercial real estate.
Leanne Pilkington, the general manager at Laing+Simmons having been with the group since 1995, says the deal originally started as a discussion around sharing resources.
Laing+Simmons, which will retain its name and presumably all its self-owned franchisees within the expanded network, has been working with Independent Property Group for nearly 10 years. IPG says it has about 40% of the real estate business in Canberra.
Laing+Simmons was established in 1967 by Doug Laing and Spencer Simmons, and purchased by its current owners Robert Farrell and Tony Anderson in 1997. Previous owners included corporate entreprenuer Lee Ming Tee's HDFI group whose acquistion of a 76% stake in 1986 was billed as the first real link between a real estate group and a major financial services organisation in Australia.
The HDFI purchase included the freehold of its headquarters building in Ward Avenue, Kings Cross.
