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The Raine & Horne branding is about to be far more ubiquitous in the New Zealand market.
The superbrand, which made the jump across the Tasman in April of this year, has announced the acquisition of Mike Pero Real Estate, adding the New Zealand outfit’s 55 franchise offices to its fold.
This takes Raine & Horne’s footprint in the nation from 13 offices to a grand total of 68 – all within the first year of operation.
Mike Pero Group’s mortgage business will continue to operate, with the group discontinuing its activity in the real estate sector. Raine & Horne has struck a strategic deal with Mike Pero Mortgages to provide financial services to the real estate brand’s customers.
The newly acquired business will be headquartered out of Christchurch, where the Mike Pero brand has based itself since its establishment in 1991.
Angus Raine, executive chairman at Raine & Horne, emphasised the similarities between the brands as he welcomed the new offices into the fold.
“Mike Pero Real Estate is a strong heritage business, like Raine & Horne, made up of passionate owners and agents who we look forward to serving, developing and growing, as we have done in the gold and charcoal successfully for decades worldwide,” he said, referring to Raine & Horne’s recognisable colouring.
Mr Aaron Skilton, NZ CEO of Liberty Financial, which owns Mike Pero Mortgages, and managing director of Mike Pero Real Estate, described the acquisition and the ongoing strategic partnership between the two businesses as a win-win for everyone involved.
“Being part of a heritage real estate business with the scale, expertise and capability of Raine & Horne represents an incredible opportunity for our business owners, agents – and ultimately Kiwi clients,” he said.
“While the Mike Pero Real Estate network will undergo a name and ownership change, our iconic Kiwi brand will continue through Mike Pero Mortgages, with the two businesses working closely together to leverage the core capabilities of what each of us do best,” he added.
Back in April 2023 when Mr Raine announced the firm’s foray into the country’s North Island, he foreshadowed that the brand’s expansion plans were aggressive and promised a presence in the South Island was soon to follow.
“Watch this space,” Mr Raine advised.
With the acquisition of Mike Pero Real Estate, the firm has well and truly made good on that promise, with Mr Raine attributing much of the success to its strategic understanding of the similarities between the two markets and judging that the timing was right to offer the New Zealand real estate sector an alternative.
“With the property market once again showing healthy signs, the demand for a major real estate brand such as Raine & Horne in New Zealand is evident. With each of our current 13 offices all rebranding from rival networks, there is significant appetite for an alternative brand with the size, technology, heritage and capability to drive growth,” Mr Raine said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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