Leading national real estate agency Bayleys has expanded the scope of its southernmost operations – acquiring a shareholding in a boutique Southland property company specialising in farm sales.

Bayleys Southland and Country & Co Realty Limited will now be rebranded under the name Country & Co in partnership with Bayleys.

Bayleys Southland is part of Bayleys Real Estate – New Zealand’s largest full-service real estate agency with a network of some 90 offices nationwide and more than 2000 employees.

Country & Co Realty Limited has been operating in Southland for four years – and is now the leading rural real estate agency in the region. The agency has a current sales team of four personnel – comprising Pip Ryan, Paula Laughton, Matt Harrington, and Shay Moseby – who are all shareholders in the company. Combined, the quartet has more than 65-years rural real estate sales experience.

Both real estate agency entities will continue operating out of their existing Invercargill premises – Bayleys at 173 Spey Street and Country & Co in partnership with Bayleys from 33 Arena Avenue. Bayleys Southland’s rural specialist Hayden McCallum has moved to the Arena Avenue office.

Bayleys Southland director David Gubb said that partnering with Country & Co enabled the agency to complete its geographic presence in the Lower South Island’s rural markets. The company through its affiliation with Bayleys Queenstown has substantial presence in Queenstown, Gore, Winton, Cromwell, Mosgiel and Dunedin.

“Although Bayleys is one of the pre-eminent rural real estate agencies in New Zealand, it’s fair to say the brand has struggled to establish a foothold in Southland’s farming sector – partly due to the successful operations of Country & Co which is a major player in the sector. So rather than battle on, it made simple business sense for Bayleys to partner with Country & Co and grow through acquisition,” Mr Gubb said.

Country & Co Realty Ltd director Pip Ryan said the move to partnering with Bayleys was a progression for a company founded on strong local representation now operating in a nationwide environment, and would ensure a solid growth path and longevity for the newly branded company.

“Southland is one of New Zealand’s primary agricultural producing regions – standing alongside the Waikato, Taranaki and Canterbury – and as such, farms for sale in the province need to be profiled to potential buyers throughout the country,” he said.

“Our new partnership with Bayleys will enable that to happen in a very effective way and Bayleys’ nationwide network of rural sales teams will enable a far greater marketing reach underpinned by personal representation.

“We’re also excited about bolting Bayleys’ extensive industry-leading back-office support services onto Country & Co’s existing strong local property owner networks and rural community relationships across Southland,” Mr Ryan said.

“It’s certainly going to be an exciting time for the area’s rural property sector.”

New branding livery for Country & Co in partnership with Bayleys is currently being designed and will feature on corporate collateral in spring.