Connells Group sold its 64.68 per cent shareholding for £58.7m. LSL sold its 32.34 per cent stake for £29.3m. The two deals, announced on the London Stock Exchange, amounted to 97.02 per cent of TM Group’s shares, for £88m.
Dye & Durham reported in Toronto that it paid CAD $156m (£90.46m) to acquire TM Group.
Matt Proud, chief executive of Dye & Durham, said: “We are pleased to be announcing this latest acquisition as it allows us to further scale our business in the UK and deliver top tier solutions to the property conveyancing market participants who rely on our technology for their day-to-day activities.”
Dye & Durham operates in Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland.
TM Group provides technology-enabled searches for conveyancers and law firms in England, Wales and Scotland.
David Livesey, Connells Group chief executive, and outgoing chairman of TM Group, said: “We are proud of the business that we built and which is set for further development under the ownership of Dye & Durham. They are the ideal acquirer for TM, enabling it to evolve as part of a global operation and providing a good fit alongside the stable of specialist businesses that they are assembling.
“We are excited for the future of TM Group, wishing the team ongoing success, and look forward to continuing our partnership with them as customers for the long term.”
Connells finalised its takeover of Countrywide in March. Parent company Skipton Building Society said in its annual report and accounts for 2020, “this creates an exciting opportunity to extend our estate agency presence across the UK.”
LSL said the move to divest TM Group shares “further simplifies group structure and provides additional capital for deployment into opportunities to accelerate the group’s growth strategy, in particular financial services”.
LSL sold its stake in conveyancing panel manager LMS in May, with the aim to focus on financial services.
In April, it established new broker firm Pivotal Growth, to be led by Simon Embley, former LSL chairman, in a joint venture with investors Pollen Street Capital.
This week, LSL also announced it appointed former L&G Mortgage Club head of broker relationships and propositions Craig Hall as director of new home financial services, with a brief to manage new build growth including at distributor brands Primis and TMA.
He joins in September.
