Estate agent Reeds Rains and Your Move set to close 124 branches

The owners of Reeds Rains have announced that some branches are to close

The company has announced plans to close branches of Your Move and Reeds Rains, slashing 124 branches to reduce the total number from 404 to 280.

There are no Your Move branches on the Fylde coast but there are branches in Fulwood, Blackburn and Darwen.

Reeds Rains has outlets at South Shore in Blackpool, Poulton and Kirkham on the Fylde coast, and at Chorley, Penwortham and Preston.

The company has not yet released details on which branches will stay open or close.

The plans will refocus the company on 144 larger "keystone branches" in crucial locations, with neighbouring sites being shut down.

The operations of 81 branches will be merged into the core network, while 43 will close outright.

Another 40 are set to be converted into franchises.

LSL said job losses are expected as a result of the move, but it would minimise this wherever possible.

The company said its fresh strategy will allow it to achieve goals including bringing in at least £80,000 profit per branch and expanding the Marsh & Parsons brand outside of central London.

The programme is expected to boost the profitability of both the Your Move and ReedsRains brands, with benefits fully achieved by the second half of next year.

Estate agents have faced a myriad of challenges in recent years including the rise of online alternatives.

Research conducted by the Local Data Company released in November indicated that estate agents were the second fastest declining retail high street category after pubs during the first half of 2018.

In a statement, LSL said bricks-and-mortar branches still had a place in the industry.

"We continue to believe that traditional estate agents will represent the substantial majority of the residential sales and lettings markets for the foreseeable future and that our estate agency branches will continue to remain core to providing the service our customers expect.

"The changes we are announcing today will better position Your Move and Reeds Rains as two leading estate agency brands in the UK. We will continue to support these branches and our people to maintain their brand presence and well established local market positions in the future."