Minors and Brady, which has branches across Norfolk and Suffolk, has acquired the former Dog Training College premises at Broadland Business Park in Norwich.

The estate agent said the 4,800sq ft building will enable it to create a modern workspace to host all of its companies under one roof.

It said it plans to hire more than 30 new roles across sales, lettings and mortgages this year, and that its existing offices - in Caister, Dereham, Diss, Norwich, Oulton Broad and Wroxham - will all remain open.

Minors and Brady has announced the acquisition of its new headquarters at Broadland Business Park in Norwich (Image: Minors & Brady)

Dog Training College, which previously occupied the Broadland Business Park building, entered liquidation last December, despite thousands of students paying £2,000 for online courses to become qualified dog trainers.

Students say they have been unable to access their courses via the college's online learning platform or get their money back since the company ceased trading.

It was later revealed by this newspaper that the company's accreditation for its courses ended in August last year, meaning students who completed courses through the college since then would not be certified by the CPD Standards Office, as advertised by the company.

The former Dog Training College building at Broadland Business Park in Norwich (Image: Newsquest)

An update on the Dog Training College website says "the DTC brand has been acquired and is under new ownership".

However, students say they have been receiving messages from the college's social media accounts asking them to continue paying money, despite the alleged new owners not yet being announced.

Minors and Brady said in a social media post announcing the acquisition that it is "investing in the future".

"Our key focus is to deliver unrivalled training and development for our people, coupled with the centralisation of departments to drive greater efficiency and collaboration," the estate agent said.

Minors & Brady's Wroxham office (Image: Supplied)

Last month, Minors and Brady appeared in an HMRC report of businesses that have not complied with money laundering regulations.

The list, published by HMRC on the official UK government website, revealed Minors and Brady had been issued with a £23,400 penalty notice by HMRC for failing to apply for registration at the required time.

Minors and Brady received the penalty notice between April 1 and September 30 last year.

The estate agent claims to have received an apology from the tax office after appealing the fine, and that the appeal has been accepted to go through Alternative Dispute Resolution.

HMRC published the report at the end of January. When it was published, the list stated the tax office had not received an appeal from the estate agent.

HMRC later updated the report on February 2 to say an appeal had been received.

HMRC said the published list is accurate and that it can't comment further than what has been published.

In a statement, Minors and Brady said: “We are aware of the recently published HMRC list in connection with fines surrounding AML registration.

“We can confirm we have appealed this decision and have been successfully accepted to go through ADR to resolve.

“Minors & Brady has received an apology via phone and in writing from HMRC for being included on the list, which they’re looking to remedy.”

© Eastern Daily Press