Holt Estate Agents: Where My Property Box's growth story began

Every acquisition programme has a starting point, and for My Property Box that starting point was Holt Estate Agents.

Holt, which ran an office in Thornaby on Teesside, was taken on by the Darlington-headquartered agency shortly before its 2019 purchase of Sanderson Lettings in Darlington. That makes Holt the opening chapter in a growth strategy that has since reshaped the residential lettings landscape across the North East and North Yorkshire.

My Property Box was still a young business at the time, founded in Darlington in 2012 by Ben Quaintrell and built on a digitally led approach to lettings and property management rather than a network of high street shopfronts. Buying a local agency added properties, clients and local knowledge in a single move, while giving the vendor a clean and considered exit.

The pace that followed says a good deal about the model. By September 2021 the group had completed six acquisitions in three years, running from Holt through Sanderson Lettings, Garrison Lettings, Lifestyle Property, Westoe Lettings and WardHorne, with many more deals to come across the wider region.

If you run an independent agency and the thought of a sale or a slower pace has started to cross your mind, an early informal chat costs nothing. We are always happy to talk quietly with owners weighing up their options.