What Ashtons Estate Agents does

Ashtons Estate Agents is an independent, family-owned estate and letting agency headquartered in York, England, founded circa 1998 and operating under the APP Group Holdings Ltd parent company. The company runs five physical offices across York and Acomb (Bootham, Front Street, and three at High Petergate) and serves residential buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants through a vertically integrated property services platform. Core offerings include residential sales with market appraisal and sales progression, three-tier lettings and property management (Tenant Find at £650+VAT, Tenant Find Monthly at 8%+VAT of monthly rent, and Fully Managed at 13%+VAT), and free property valuations. Three wholly-owned sub-brands extend the platform into adjacent verticals: Stays York for holiday let management, Milburns Commercial for commercial property sales and lettings, and MulberryPM for block management of multi-unit residential and commercial properties.

The underlying technology is a standard property listing and search website with filtering by price, bedrooms, and property type, syndicated across Rightmove, Zoopla, On The Market, and Prime Location portals. The business supports its operations with dedicated phone lines per department, maintenance reporting via email and an emergency out-of-hours contact, and a MoveButler partnership for Anti-Money Laundering compliance checks on transactions. Supporting infrastructure includes ARLA, NAEA, Property Ombudsman, safeagent, and TDS accreditations, plus GDPR-compliant data handling under a Data Protection Officer (Debbie McGroarty).

Revenue is generated through a mix of transaction commissions on residential and commercial sales, recurring percentage-based fees on managed rental portfolios, fixed-fee tenant placement, holiday let management income from the Stays York sub-brand, and minor referral fees from the MoveButler AML partnership. No external funding has been raised; the company is bootstrapped and family-controlled. Geographic reach is concentrated in York and surrounding North Yorkshire villages (Acomb, Bilbrough, Huntington, Dringhouses), with portal distribution providing national buyer visibility without physical expansion outside the region.

Name

Ashtons Estate Agents

Legal name

APP Group Holdings Ltd

Website

https://ashtonsnet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ashtons Estate Agents is an independent, family-owned estate and letting agency in York, England, founded circa 1998, offering residential sales, three-tier lettings and property management, holiday lets (Stays York), commercial property (Milburns Commercial), and block management (MulberryPM) across five local offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Real Estate Services

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312), Real Estate Property Managers (53131)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Traditional Residential Brokerage (Existing Homes) (BPAJAAAA)

Keywords

• Residential property sales
• Letting agency services
• Property management
• Commercial estate agency
• Holiday letting management

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Residential Property Sales: Commission-based estate agency services for residential property sales in York and surrounding areas. The company facilitates property sales from initial valuation through to completion, earning commission on successful transactions.
2. Lettings and Property Management: Three-tier service model: Tenant Find (£650 + VAT), Tenant Find Monthly (8% + VAT of monthly rent), and Fully Managed (13% + VAT of monthly rent). Services include tenant referencing, tenancy agreements, rent collection, property inspections, and maintenance coordination.
3. Holiday Lettings (Stays York): Holiday let management services under the Stays York brand, managing short-term rental properties in York.
4. Commercial Property (Milburns Commercial): Commercial estate agency services through the Milburns Commercial brand, focusing on commercial property sales and lettings in York.
5. Anti-Money Laundering Checks: Facilitates AML compliance checks through partner MoveButler, earning referral compensation for administrative role in the compliance process (£30 + VAT per purchaser/giftor).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ashtons Estate Agents is an independent estate and letting agency selling and managing residential property in York and North Yorkshire. Core services are Residential Sales (market appraisal, professional photography, viewings, negotiation, and sales progression) and Lettings & Property Management offered in three tiers (Tenant Find, Tenant Find Monthly, Fully Managed). Adjacent lines include holiday lets via Stays York, commercial sales and lettings via Milburns Commercial, and block management via MulberryPM.

Product overview

Ashtons Estate Agents is an independent, family-owned estate and letting agency operating primarily in York, England. The company offers a unified property services platform encompassing residential sales, lettings, and property management. Their core products include Residential Sales (with market appraisal, photography, viewings, negotiation, and sales progression), Lettings & Property Management (offered in three tiers: Tenant Find at £650 + VAT, Tenant Find Monthly at 8% + VAT, and Fully Managed at 13% + VAT), and Property Valuation. The company also operates three sub-brands: Stays York for holiday lets, Milburns Commercial for commercial property services, and MulberryPM for block management. Supporting services include tenant renting support, maintenance reporting with emergency out-of-hours contact, and integration with major property portals (Rightmove, Zoopla, On The Market, Prime Location) for property marketing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stays York: Holiday lets and short-term rental property services in York
• Milburns Commercial

Products and services

• Residential Sales Estate agency service for selling residential properties in York and Acomb, including market appraisals, professional photography (with drone shots and floorplans), accompanied viewings, offer negotiation, and sales progression through to completion.
• Lettings & Property Management Rental property management for landlords, offered in three tiers: Tenant Find (£650 + VAT one-time), Tenant Find Monthly (8% + VAT of monthly rent, plus set-up fees), and Fully Managed (13% + VAT of monthly rent, plus set-up fees). Services include tenant referencing, tenancy agreements, rent collection, periodic inspections, inventory management, maintenance coordination, annual rent review, and legal advice.
• Property Valuation Free, no-obligation market appraisal service for residential property owners considering selling.
• Tenant Renting Services Service for tenants looking to rent properties in York and Acomb, including portfolio viewing and support throughout the rental process.
• Stays York (Holiday Lets) Holiday let management service operating at 7 High Petergate, York, YO1 7EN (Company Number 14214864), managing short-term rental properties in York under the Stays York brand.
• Milburns Commercial Commercial property services including sales and lettings, operating from 5 High Petergate, York, YO1 7EN (Company Number 15651477).
• MulberryPM (Block Management) Block management services for residential and commercial blocks, delivered through the MulberryPM sub-brand (https://www.mulberrypm.co.uk/).

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hunters Property Group: UK regional estate agency network offering residential sales, lettings, and property management across multiple branches. Closely comparable to Ashtons' multi-service, multi-branch regional agency model.
• Reeds Rains: Established UK estate and lettings agency chain with branch network and full-service offering. Comparable in scope (sales + lettings + management) and target market (residential consumers and landlords).
• Chancellors: Multi-branch UK estate agency offering residential sales, lettings, and management. Direct competitor in the regional high-street agent segment that Ashtons operates in.
• Belvoir: UK lettings-focused franchise network with central support and local franchisee offices. Closely comparable to Ashtons' managed-lettings service tiers (Tenant Find, Tenant Find Monthly, Fully Managed).
• Martin & Co: National UK lettings and property management franchise with tiered landlord services. Comparable to Ashtons on the lettings and management side of the business.

Emerging players

• Purplebricks: Online/hybrid UK estate agent with fixed-fee pricing model. Represents the disruptive model pressuring traditional high-street agents like Ashtons on commission rates.

Broad incumbents

• Connells Group: Largest UK estate agency group with extensive residential sales, lettings, and mortgage operations. Competes with Ashtons across all service lines but at national scale and with corporate buying power on portals.
• Savills: Global real estate services firm with UK residential sales, lettings, and investment services. Competes for higher-value and investor segments where Ashtons also wins mandates (e.g., multi-unit investment blocks).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AshtonsEstateAgents
• Instagraminstagram.com/ashtonsyork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ashtons-estate-letting-agents

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ashtons Estate Agents