A YORK-based estate agency group has revealed plans to raise £2.5 million through a float on AIM as it looks to grow its network to 500 branches by 2020.

Hunters, which opened its first branch in York 22 years ago, is now the UK's sixth largest estate agency group with 128 branches, 31 of which were opened last year alone, increasing revenues by more than 40 per cent.

The group is now looking for a listing on the London Stock Exchange's smaller counterpart AIM, raising funds privately on a pre-IPO basis by inviting investors, including staff and partners, to buy shares.

In preparation for the flotation, a restructuring of the board is taking place with managing director and founder Kevin Hollinrake moving into the role of chairman and Glynis Frew, currently operations director taking over as managing director.

Harry Hill, who is currently a non-executive director, and former chief executive of Countrywide, will join the board as chief executive, with the responsibility of guiding Hunters through the flotation process and helping the company adjust to public ownership.

Martin Robinson will become national sales director, while co-founder John Waterhouse remains as president and Ed Jones, finance director will take responsibility as chief financial officer.

Mr Hollinrake said: "This is an exciting time for us as we continue to drive forward our growth initiatives for expansion.

"With access to further capital, we see significant opportunity to increase our penetration in the UK, strengthen our position as one of the leading UK estate agency brands and open further branches in continental Europe."

The Hunters network is mainly franchised with branches across the UK in cities including London, Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, and Liverpool.