Lloyds Banking Group is looking to offload its Halifax estate agents business in a bid to raise funds to boost its balance sheet and escape the government’s asset protection scheme.
The bank said it was in talks to sell the loss-making Halifax Estate Agencies (HEA) to LSL Property Services – owner of high street estate agency brands Your Move, Reeds Rains and Intercounty.
HEA operates just 218 branches across the UK, including 93 franchises, compared to the 600-plus it had during its peak in the late 1990s.
However, the firm is still the fifth or sixth largest player in a sector which has been severley hit by the economic downutrn.
Interested buyer’s LSL is the third largest estate agent in the UK. The firm currently has 357 estate agent offices, including 74 franchises, but a deal to takeover HEA would boost its branch portfolio by nearly a third.
Last year LSL generated a turnover of £161.7m and made a pre-tax loss of £6.2m, compared to HEA which reported revenues of £54.3m and an operating loss of £57.9m.
Lloyds did not disclose a potential price and said it would provide an update on the sale process "in due course".
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Lloyds In Talks To Sell Halifax Estate Agency Chain Wed, 14 Oct 2009
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