Realise by 2point0 launched... and the response has been incredible

It has only been a few days since 2point0 Realise was unveiled – we officially launched on Monday 7 September – but already the response has been incredible, from literally hundreds of well-wishers to already receiving several enquiries.

Realise is a new arm to 2point0 Group, dedicated to business sales, mergers and acquisitions in the property sector – and I've joined as Partner to drive this division forward.

It's a role I've been building towards for the best part of 25 years, and one I couldn't be more excited to start.

The desire for another option for business sales, mergers and acquisitions in the property sector felt palpable before we went public; now that we’ve launched, it is undeniable.

We are really grateful for the support we’ve already received, delighted to see the enquiries coming in, and most of all excited about what comes next.

 

Why this, and why now?

I've spent my career in and around estate and lettings agency – first on the front line, as an agent, then managing branches, then leading company-wide operations. I later moved from Ops into increasingly M&A-focused roles, at LRG, Christie & Co, and most recently as National Acquisitions Director at Spicerhaart.

Along the way, I've had the privilege of working closely with both Nicola and Paul, including working with Paul on Romans Acquisitions, where we handled deal after deal together and built the kind of working relationship you can’t fake.

Paul and I have now been involved in more than 50 business sales, mergers and acquisitions between us – everything from boutique lettings operations to large, multi-million-pound corporate buyouts, and although our paths diverged, we remained close and regularly in touch.

Nevertheless, when they suggested we meet for coffee earlier this summer, I somehow had a feeling that the conversation was going to be different from our normal, regular meetups.

I was right!

When they told me what they were building with 2point0 Group, and where they wanted to take it next with me involved, I didn't take much persuading.

Estate and Letting Agency is a sector that hasn’t had a specialist business advisory partner who truly understands it from the inside – one who has sat in the negotiation room, who knows what a deal actually feels like at 11pm the night before completion, and who genuinely cares what happens to the business and its people once the ink is dry.

That's what we're building with Realise. It’s what I've wanted to build for a long time.

 

Why do we call it ‘Realise’?

Realise sits alongside Consult and Recruit as the third pillar of 2point0 Group. Together, they now offer something genuinely rare in this sector: an end-to-end service that supports a business through its entire lifecycle.

Consult helps owners strengthen and grow. Recruit makes sure they have the right people to do it. But Realise is about the outcome – whatever that outcome looks like, and whenever it arrives.

That last point matters more than people sometimes realise. Realise isn't only for owners who are ready to sell tomorrow, although we absolutely support those conversations, and we're already having several of them. But it's just as much for the owner who knows they want to exit in two years, or five – and who wants to spend that time maximising the value of what they've built, rather than leaving it to chance.

Good exits can be found through spontaneous decisions. But the best exits are often planned, sometimes years in advance, with the kind of discreet, patient advice that respects what's at stake: someone's life's work, not just a line item on a spreadsheet.

Then there's mergers and acquisitions. Much of my career has been spent on that side of the table – helping ambitious agencies find, assess and integrate the right businesses to buy or to join with. That's a big part of what we're offering here.

Realise supports estate and letting agency owners on both sides of the transaction – those looking to sell, and those looking to grow through acquisition. It's a two-way street, and one I think has been underserved in this sector for far too long.

 

Discretion, always

One thing we want to be clear about from day one: discretion isn't a nice-to-have in this line of work; it's the whole job. Nicola puts it perfectly when she talks about 2point0

Group being "the keepers of secrets" – and that's exactly the standard we'll hold ourselves to in Realise. Whether you're tentatively exploring a sale two years out, or actively looking for your next acquisition, you need to know that the conversation stays exactly where you left it, for as long as it needs to.

 

What comes next?

The property sector needs something new when it comes to business sales, mergers and acquisitions – a partner who listens and reacts, and always moves forward with the client's best interests in mind.

That's what Realise is here to fulfil, and after these last couple of days hearing directly from owners across the sector, I'm more convinced than ever that we’ve got the timing here absolutely right.

If you're thinking about your own exit – whether that's next month or several years from now – or if acquisitions are part of your growth plan, I'd love to talk.

This is exactly the conversation I've spent 25 years preparing to have.

Joel Osbourne is Partner and co-founder of Realise, the mergers and acquisitions arm of 2point0 Group.