Trade buyer Places for People has bought property management company Paladin Group from NVM Private Equity.

The disposal comes six years after NVM initially invested in Paladin Group. Since then it has provided a total of £6 million to help the management team expand and develop the business.

Through the exit to Places for People, NVM has netted a money multiple of 2.3x on its original capital outlay. It also backed a number of acquisitions made by Paladin.

Bath-based Paladin manages some 20,000 residential properties throughout England. According to a statement, the business has increased the number of residential properties it manages by 344 per cent over the last six years.

Tim Saunders, managing director of Paladin Group, says that the company and NVM have formed an ‘excellent working relationship’ over the investment period.

He adds, ‘The management team are delighted to be joining the Places for People group and believe that partnering with an organisation like this provides the right platform for cementing the company’s reputation in a rapidly developing private rented sector.’

By selling Paladin from its portfolio, NVM has completed its second deal of the week. It also injected £3.5 million into Haystack Dryers to aid its international development.

NVM managing director Martin Green says, ‘The new partnership between Paladin Group and Places for People will create an even greater force in the property services market.’