THE parent company of estate agent Your Move has acquired rival Reeds Rains for an undisclosed sum.

Lending Solutions, based in York, announced the purchase of the North's largest independent estate agent Reeds Rains yesterday.

Reeds Rains, based in Lancashire, will retain its high street presence and identity with the existing management, who have retained shares in the business, being kept on. Lending Solutions said Reeds Rains branch staff had been told that their terms and conditions remained unchanged, with no cost-cutting or redundancies to follow the acquisition.

Nigel Favas, managing director of Reeds Rains, which has 130 branches and 950 staff, said: "The acquisition will allow us to continue to develop our core business and increase our credibility within the marketplace."