Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by The Negotiator. Read the original article for full details.

What Letting Agency Owners Do After Selling Their Businesses

Adam Walker, a business sales broker with over 40 years’ experience in the property sector, has shared insights into what business owners do after selling their letting agencies. Walker contacted former clients whose businesses he had sold in recent years and found a range of post-sale paths.

Walker notes that, until recently, most sellers were of retirement age and often devoted their time to hobbies, travel, passive investment, charity work, or looking after grandchildren. However, he observes that many current sellers are younger and not yet ready for retirement.

Contrary to the common myth that sellers spend their proceeds on luxury items such as mansions, exotic cars, or yachts, Walker states that this is extremely rare among his clients. He recalls only one instance of such spending.

A more frequent outcome is that former agency owners start new businesses in different sectors. Walker describes one client who, after receiving an eight-figure sum for his business, immediately began planning his next venture. Some clients have achieved significant success in their second careers, including one who started a medical sector business that became worth five times more than his original letting agency within three years.

Property development is another common route. Walker mentions clients who, after years of advising others on development projects, finally undertook their own. One client converted a former office building into flats and earned more from this project than during his entire agency ownership.

Some sellers choose to remain in the property sector in a different capacity. Walker highlights a client who sold his large mixed sales and letting agency to a corporate chain and agreed to a six-month part-time role to assist with the transition. Over a decade later, this client continues to work there, now focusing on valuing country houses and expressing greater job satisfaction than before.

Walker concludes that the key for former business owners is to pursue activities that excite and challenge them, regardless of financial motivation.