The Property Franchise Group, the UK’s largest multi-brand property franchisor, has acquired a 25% stake in leading residential property surveying business Meridian for £2.5m.
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Bournemouth-headquartered The Property Franchise Group (TPFG), which has 1,900 branches operating under 18 brands including Belvoir, Fine & Country and Hunters.
Meridian, parent of Barnsley-based Legal & General Surveying Services (LGSS), extends its platform into residential surveying, a move it said was a “natural adjacency to the group’s core franchise and financial services activities”.
LGSS is a long-established residential surveying business providing valuation, panel management, survey and assisted AVM (automated valuation model) services to a diversified portfolio of bank, building society and specialist lender clients.
It is owned by Meridian, which was formed in 2025 as the acquisition vehicle through which LGSS was carved out of Legal & General Group last November.
For the year ended 31 December 2024, LGSS generated a pre-tax profit before of £40,000 on revenue of £43.7m.
However, The Property Franchise Group said since its acquisition by Meridian, LGSS had delivered a material improvement in trading performance.
It added that, based on LGSS’s current trading, the investment was expected to make “a modest contribution” to its earnings in FY26, reflecting part-year ownership, and to be earnings enhancing on a full-year basis thereafter.
Gareth Samples, chief executive officer of TPFG, said Legal and General Surveying Services was a business with a deep heritage, strong lender relationships and a clear runway for growth following its recent separation from Legal & General.
“Residential surveying is a natural adjacency to our franchise and financial services divisions, and this investment further strengthens TPFG’s participation in the mortgage value chain while maintaining our strong balance sheet position,” he added.”
Richard Sexton, managing director of LGSS, added: “TPFG is a natural strategic partner for LGSS.
“Their reach across the UK residential property market, combined with their established mortgage distribution networks, is highly complementary to the services we provide to our lender clients. This investment provides additional firepower for our growth.”
In the year to 31 December, The Property Franchise Group’s earnings rose by 49% to £30.3m on revenue up by 25% at £84.3m. During the year it completed on 35,000 residential sale transactions, up on 30,000 in 2024.