Newcastle tenant referencing firm Van Mildert bought by Rightmove

A Newcastle-based landlord and tenant protection firm has been bought by a property website in a deal worth at least £16 million.

Van Mildert has been acquired by Rightmove.

The agreement, supported by North East dealmakers, will see Rightmove pay an initial £16 million. A future deferred consideration will be payable in 2022 based on the revenue performance of the business and will be capped at £4 million.

Bosses at Rightmove say Van Mildert, which provides tenant referencing services and rent guarantee insurance products, will strengthen its Tenant Passport proposition and ability across the under-served rental marketplace.

Van Mildert’s founder Christian Balshan will continue to lead the team from its Newcastle office under the terms of the deal.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is anticipated to complete by October 31 this year.

Van Mildert was advised by RG Corporate Finance’s head of corporate finance Carl Swansbury and corporate finance manager David Nixon, with accounting and tax advice from RG partner Deborah Graham and senior manager Stephen Callaghan.

Additional tax advice was provided by Fieldfisher, with legal advice from Katherine Hay-Heddle, corporate partner at law firm Ward Hadaway.

Carl said: “This acquisition marks an important milestone in the growth of Van Mildert, which RG Corporate Finance has supported for more than seven years.”

Peter Brooks-Johnson, chief executive of Rightmove, added: “We’re looking forward to welcoming Van Mildert, a highly-respected tenant referencing company, to the Rightmove family.

“It will help our quest to make renting a property faster, easier and more efficient for tenants, landlords and agents.”