Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | BUSINESS NEWS
Property management company Stay With Us has made its first ever acquisition after taking over the serviced accommodation portfolio of North East neighbour Horizon Stays.
Darlington-based Stay With Us is a premier serviced accommodation management business and a sister company to the well-established lettings agency, My Property Box. The deal takes Stay With Us to more than 200 properties under management with plans to continue growing its portfolio across the North East through further acquisitions.
Founded in 2023, Stay With Us has grown to a team of about 15 people and manages properties from North Yorkshire to Northumberland, with its reach also beginning to extend into the Lake District.
The company works with property owners to manage bookings, guests, maintenance and the day-to-day running of their properties. Its clients also include corporate travel agents, insurance and relocation companies, emergency housing providers, contractors and local authorities, giving property owners access to a broader range of bookings.
It has also developed a growing direct booking network, with about half of all bookings now generated directly rather than through third-party platforms such as Airbnb.
Middlesbrough Horizon Stays was formed in 2021 and has built a portfolio of serviced accommodation across the region. It specialises in large corporate bookings, contractor and relocation. It has over 50 Serviced accommodation properties which are used for short to medium term bookings especially for businesses and contractors working away from home.
Ryan Cresswell, chief executive and co-founder of Stay With Us, said: "Completing our first acquisition is a major milestone. We’ve grown significantly since launching and a big part of that has been building a model which isn’t reliant on one or two booking platforms. Bringing the Horizon Stays portfolio into Stay With Us strengthens that further and gives those property owners access to the wider booking network we’ve developed. This is our first acquisition, but we certainly don’t intend it to be our last.”
Cresswell said he was actively looking to speak to owners and operators who may be considering selling a portfolio, whether that’s relatively small or much larger, particularly across the North East.
Martin McManus, director of Horizon Stays, said: "It was important to us that the portfolio moved to a business that could continue to look after both property owners and guests properly. Stay With Us has built a strong operation across the region and has developed a wide network of direct and corporate bookings, which was an important factor for us."
Read about other recent property deals in the North East
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