Well known industry figure John Paul and his estate agency business Castledene have been on the acquisition trail, with the purchase of a three-branch business in Northumberland.

The purchase of Red Hot Property takes Castledene Group to nine branches, 60 staff, and a management portfolio of over 2,000 properties.

With branches added in Hexham, Prudhoe and Alston, the group – which has featured on television, including a focus on its work with vulnerable tenants – now covers a large area in the north-east.

Paul said: “Red Hot Properties has an excellent name. It seems a natural progression for us to venture slightly further north.

“The company has good structure already and sells a lot of homes each year. We are going to grow their current lettings portfolio and boost sales.

“It’s a really positive move for us and we are looking forward to it.”

Despite the tenant fee ban, Brexit and all the uncertainty in the industry, Paul said: “We are in a good position for growth right now. The fact we have a strong lettings portfolio stands us in good stead.

“We reduced our reliance to tenants’ fees to 1.9% of turnover when the ban came in and now that’s been replaced and then some.

“We have some pretty big goals over the next few years and the Red Hot acquisition was the first step.”

The Castledene Group was founded in 2008, launching into sales five years ago. Both the firm and its founder have won several awards recognising the unusual business model, which was once described as working at the coalface of social deprivation.