Media Release

Sydney, NSW (13 March 2018) – Real estate Superbrand Raine & Horne has reinforced its position as a market leader on Sydney’s prestigious North Shore with the merger of three of its principal offices.

Raine & Horne Crows Nest, established in 1973 has amalgamated with nearby Raine & Horne Chatswood Willoughby and Raine & Horne St Leonards. The new entity will trade as Raine & Horne HM Group, and former Crows Nest principals David and Jan Hill and Hugh and Cassandra Macfarlan from Raine & Horne Chatswood Willoughby will lead the business.

Raine & Horne St Leonards principal John Simpson-Morgan is excited to integrate his long-standing business into Raine & Horne HM Group. This decision to join the new entity will provide an enhanced level of service to Raine & Horne St Leonards clients through greater access to resources, training and reach across the North Shore, noted Mr Simpson-Morgan.

“An office expansion of this nature is a developing industry trend, and this merger represents one of the clear-cut advantages of being part of a large network such as Raine & Horne,” said Angus Raine, Executive Chairman, Raine & Horne.

“The offices share a similar corporate culture, while a merger gives David, Hugh, Jan, and Cassandra the opportunity to take their businesses to the next level.

“Moreover, an opportunity to create larger, more robust businesses is not as easily available to independents. Also, David, Hugh, Jan and Cassandra have the equivalent of 100 years’ worth of experience in real estate, which will be a massive resource for property owners, investors, and tenants on the North Shore.”

Mr Hill said the longevity of Raine & Horne Crows Nest, Raine & Horne Chatswood/Willoughby and Raine & Horne St Leonards business relationships with the 135-year-old real estate brand was central to the merger.

“The longevity of our association with Raine & Horne, along with the firm’s focus on digital technologies such as Amplify and DigiKit, its systems and training have made this merger a seamless experience.”

The benefits of an office merger

The ability to work with like-minded people coupled with economies of scale regarding marketing, training, and recruitment, are the primary appeals of launching Raine & Horne HM Group, according to Mr Hill, a former Sydney Futures Exchange trader before joining Raine & Horne Crows Nest in 2003.

“As salespeople, Hugh and I have developed a strong working relationship by attending Raine & Horne’s conferences, awards nights and principals’ retreats, which are central to fostering the network’s culture,” he said. “While we have the shared culture, we have discovered we complement each other. I admire Hugh’s eagle-like eye for detail, and he tells me he likes my enthusiasm for real estate and business growth.”

Raine & Horne HM Group will provide sales and property management services to an expanded sales territory from Waverton, along the Pacific Highway corridor to Roseville and all the suburbs in between noted Mr Hill. “We will also be able to cross-utilise the databases of the three businesses, and property management will remain a significant focus for Raine & Horne HM Group. Jan Hill, one of the most experienced real estate professionals on the Lower North Shore, having joined Raine & Horne Crows Nest in 1987, will lead the new entity's property management team.

“Combining the budgets of the two businesses will also enable us to invest more time in longer-term strategic planning, as well as more funding for training to ensure we have the best-educated salespeople and property managers.”

Mr Macfarlan agrees, explaining, “By merging we will able to cut duplicate costs, while the merged entity will give us a more brand exposure for our marketing dollars.”

A merged business will enable the new company to recruit and retain quality real estate specialists, said Mr Macfarlan, who has been an award winning real estate agent on the Lower North Shore for over two decades. Raine & Horne HM Group is seeking to triple its sales team by the end of 2020.

“Having a bigger team will enable us to attract higher quality talent and retain them. A former Qantas Sales & Marketing Executive, Cassandra Macfarlan, was responsible for recruitment and retention at Raine & Horne Chatswood Willoughby since 2004 and she will continue as the human resources lead for the new business.”

Plenty of legwork involved in a merger

Mr Macfarlan warns that every aspect of the must make sense before a decision to amalgamate is taken. He explains, “You don’t merge to save money and when you’re moving from a standalone business to a combined entity, just don’t do it because you think the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence.

“You have to go into a partnership with eyes wide open, make sure there are open lines of communication from the start and that everybody is as aligned as they can be.

“People are always going to be in different stages of their careers, different stages of their life cycles. If everybody is on the same page as far as the broad direction of where you want to go with the business, and they are willing to put in the work, then you have the elements for a successful merger.”

Breakout: Benefits of merging real estate offices

Developing an existing shared corporate culture
Significant increase in combined real estate experience
Ability to work with like-minded people
Larger sales and property management territories and databases
Greater economies of scale regarding marketing, training, recruitment, and retention
Invest more time in strategic planning and business growth

Raine & Horne HM Group has offices at G02/99 Alexander St, Crows Nest and Suite 2 / 129 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood. For all your sales and property management enquiries in Crows Nest, Chatswood, Willoughby, St Leonards and surrounding suburbs contact Raine & Horne HM Group on 9439 3488.

–ENDS–

For further media information contact:

David Hill, Co-Principal Raine & Horne HM Group on 0411 491 122

Hugh Macfarlan, Co-Principal Raine & Horne HM Group on 0418 270 993

Raine & Horne office to transform real estate on the North Shore