Award winning property investment company, The Armchair Property Investor has been bought by the Braemar Group plc, provider of residential property fund investments, corporate finance and property management services in a deal worth £2.2M. Armchair will continue to trade under its own name with founder Frazer Fearnhead taking on the role of a divisional director of Braemar.



Armchair, which was established in 2005, has over 10,000 individuals registered to receive details of their UK and overseas property deals. In addition to offering property deals, it will now, through Braemar, be able to provide its customers with a complete package of services including a full property management facility, in-house bridging loans and regulated property funds. Commenting on the deal, Frazer Fearnhead said, "In an increasingly competitive market, where prospective clients find it hard to distinguish legitimate professional organisations from anonymous companies trading on the internet, this deal gives Armchair's clients the security of dealing with a company backed by an AIM listed plc. It creates a clear distinction between us and the mass of investment clubs that have sprung up in the last 18 months. It will also increase our leverage with developers and enable us to negotiate better deals for our clients"



Braemar was founded by former city analyst, Marc Duschenes. Recently nominated as ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007’, Marc founded the business in 2002 following a career in Investment Banking. The company is recognised as a specialist in tax efficient residential funds targeted at high net worth individuals. Explaining the rationale behind the acquisition of Armchair Marc said, “Many property investment companies claim to offer an end-to-end service but his usually stops at the point of completion. This deal gives a new definition to the term end-to-end since it creates a company that will not only source the property deals for clients but find tenants, collect the rents and fully manage the property. This provides a hassle free investment solution which we’re sure will prove attractive to investors.”



As a result of the deal, in addition to dealing direct with its individual clients, Armchair will be able to market its deals via Braemar’s network of over 4000 IFAs.



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For further information please contact:

Katie Moffat, kmmedia, 0161 947 9579 / 07866 723626

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