Conveyancing giant issues optimistic update after Stamp Duty cuts
Smoove Plc says its strength in the first-time buyer market will boost its financial prospects.
Conveyancing fintech expert Smoove has issued a positive update to its results with optimism sparked by the Stamp Duty cuts.
The company said it expects to maintain its level of profits this year, especially given “its strength in the first-time buyer segment of the market”.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng raised the Stamp Duty zero rate threshold for first-time buyers from £300,000 to £425,000 in last week’s Mini-Budget.
“The Board anticipates that the recently announced changes to stamp duty thresholds will help more people get on the property ladder which should in turn positively impact the Group given its strength in the first-time buyer segment of the market,” a statement to the Stock Market reads.
Instructions and completions through Smoove’s eConveyancer business increased by 29% and 42% respectively for the 5 months to 31 August 2022 compared to the previous period.
Pilot launch
Smoove, formerly known as ULS Technology, is the platform used by thousands of estate agents.
The Smoove brand with a pink logo and hellosmoove.com website were created in April when the firm decided a new look was needed. In August, the company launched an estate agency pilot called Smoove Start.
It announced gross profit of £7.8 million and revenues up 13% to £19.2 million for the year ending March 31. It also revealed an underlying EBITDA loss of £3.8 million, which was due to investment in the eConveyancer.
Conveyancing completions rose 11% to 37,104, and instructions were up 20% to 66,394.
