Coulters and HBJ Property join forces

Edinburgh solicitor and estate agency firm Coulters is to merge with HBJ Property, a division of law firm HBJ Gateley.

The merged business, which will trade under the Coulters name, will operate across both residential and commercial markets. HBJ Gateley will become the majority shareholder in the company.

Coulters was founded in August 2013, opening its first branch in Stockbridge before adding a second in Marchmont 18 months later. Following the merger, Coulters will retain both high street branches, while initially operating its legal hub from HBJ Gateley's Canning Street headquarters.

Coulters' property agency will increase from 12 to 22, with its legal team increasing post-merger to 10. Ross MacKay, Alastair Shepherd and Louise Williams, the three partners in HBJ Property, will become partners in Coulters. The firm expects to at least double the number of legal and sales transactions it handles every month.

Managing director Mark Coulter commented: “This is a key milestone for both organisations. We are excited about the opportunities available to us moving forward and have ambitious plans to more than treble our revenue over the next five years.

“We are confident the merger will result in a company that will be able to deliver an unrivalled customer experience, whether on the lettings, sales or legal side of the business.

“By combining the customer focus and responsiveness of our sales and lettings professionals with the expertise of HBJ’s legal specialists, we intend to consolidate our position in Edinburgh while building our profile outside of the capital, reaching across Scotland and into the North of England.”

Malcolm McPherson, senior partner at HBJ Gateley, added: “Coulters is an established and well-respected brand in the property market, regularly outperforming the market with the speed of its sales and the sale prices it achieves. We felt there was a strong and mutually-beneficial synergy between the business and our own property division.

“It has an excellent ethos of providing exceptional levels of customer service, which makes it a natural fit for HBJ Property.”