Newton Property in acquisition

Newton Property Management, which has offices in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness, has expanded its presence in the Highlands with the acquisition of the factoring arm of Allied Souter & Jaffrey.

At present, Newton has 45 members of staff and manages about 18,000 factored and 600 leased units across Scotland.

The firm will now oversee an additional2,500factoredunits in the north of the country, including 67 private estates, and see its national coverage span as far north as Tain and as far south as Gretna Green. Allied Souter & Jaffrey is the trading name of the former Souter & Jaffrey partnership, which was formed in 1951, providing property services throughout the Highlands and Islands.

The firm has offices in Inverness, Elgin, Dingwall and Fort William and has been one of the area’s main property factors for more than 30 years.

As part of the deal, Allied Souter & Jaffrey’s property management staff will join Newton to assist with operations at the firm’s new Inverness base, with plans already in place to quadruple the number of employees over the next five years. In addition, the acquisition will offer local contractors the opportunity to extend their reach to other parts of the country.

Derek Macdonald, joint managing director of Newton Property, said: “We believe strongly in the region and feel it is essential that we have a permanent base and that we continue to invest in the area.”

Allied Souter & Jaffrey managing director Richard Smith added: “We wanted the new owners of the factoring division to be the right fit for our customer base, and it took a lot of time to make the finaldecisionaboutsellingthe department.”