London - Lawyers from the London office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP have advised online estate agency business easyProperty on its merger with GPEA, the parent company of The Guild of Property Professionals and Fine & Country, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction was structured by a combination of cash and equity and was backed by institutional multi-asset fund manager Toscafund Asset Management. The merger allows the combined group to expand its offerings by enabling GPEA's 5,000-plus existing members to target a greater range of property vendors through a monthly license.

Jon Cooke, chief executive of the newly combined business, stated: “We recognise the market requires and demands both online products and traditional methods. This newly merged business is the convergence of traditional estate agency and online.”

The K&L Gates team advising on the transaction was led by relationship partner Paul Tetlow and also included corporate associates Robert Boughey and Kathryn Jarvis, corporate trainee Tom Dunn, tax partner Giles Bavister, tax senior associate David Jacob, licensing senior associate Andrew Gilchrist, and data protection associate Noirin McFadden.

“K&L Gates has a long tradition acting for technology driven businesses, going back to the origins of the firm,” commented Tetlow. “This combination of an online and a traditional estate agency business creates a compelling proposition for customers and we are delighted to have played a key role in making it happen.”