From 33 to 408: Sourced franchisee’s rapid growth

A franchisee who launched her own lettings franchise business with Sourced Living in spring 2024 has grown from 33 to 408 managed properties after completing the acquisition of an established four-branch estate agency.

Sara Watkins-Schmidt, a Sourced Living franchisee, had a background in sales and marketing before entering the property industry.

Starting without an existing lettings portfolio, she built her first 33 managed properties organically before looking to acquisition as a way to accelerate the growth of her business.

Just over two years after launching, with the support of Sourced, Sara has now acquired Complete Estate Agency in Devon, adding 375 managed properties, four established branches and 23 employees to her operation.

Sara said:

“Getting to 33 managed properties taught me a huge amount and gave me the confidence that I could build a successful lettings business, but I always had bigger ambitions for where I wanted to take it.”

“Acquiring Complete has completely changed the scale of the business. I’ve gone from 33 properties to 408 and now have four established branches and an incredibly experienced team around me.”

Complete operates branches in Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Exeter (Cranbrook).

All four locations will remain open and continue trading under the Complete Estate Agency brand, with its existing 23-strong team remaining in place.

The acquisition was completed with the backing of Sourced Living and forms part of the franchise’s approach of enabling Partners to combine organic portfolio building with the acquisition of established agencies and portfolios.

Stephen Moss, Founder and CEO of Sourced Property Group, said:

“Sara’s journey demonstrates why we don’t believe franchise growth has to mean adding one customer at a time for years.”

“She came into the industry without an established lettings portfolio, built the foundations herself and proved she could grow organically.”

“The next question was how we could help her take that business to a completely different level.”

“The right acquisition can change the trajectory of a business. Sara has gone from 33 to more than 400 managed properties, but she’s also gained an experienced team, four established branches, infrastructure and a recognised local brand.”

“For us, that’s an exciting evolution of what a franchise can offer ambitious business owners.”

Sara’s focus will now be on working with Complete’s existing team to increase the agency’s reach across Devon and build on its achievements in both residential sales and lettings. Sara and the team share a strong commitment to the residential sales side of the business, which will remain central to Complete’s future growth.

Sara added:

“This feels much more like the beginning of the next stage than the end goal.”

“We’ve now got a very special team, the infrastructure and the platform to build something much bigger. Residential sales is an important part of Complete and something the team and I are passionate about, so the ambition is to grow both sides of the business together.”