Chestertons to post profits of £3 million for 2018, two years after making a loss
Company says profits doubled during 2018, helped by a strong performance from within the company's London lettings business.
Profits at venerable London estate agency Chestertons doubled during 2018, the company has revealed.
Based on its most recent accounts, this points to likely profits of £3 million last year on a turnover of £40 million or more, a substantial improvement on its much-publicised losses of £2.3 million only two years ago.
In a statement released over the weekend Chestertons says strong performances by both its sales and lettings departments, alongside internal efforts to make the business more efficient, are the main drivers of its improved performance.
The company has yet to publish its full accounts for 2018 but says its sizeable lettings division had a particularly good year increasing revenue by 9%, tenancies by 7% and number of managed properties by 10%.
Sales division
Chestertons won’t say how well its sales division has performed, revealing only that revenues increased despite ‘challenging’ conditions over the past 12 months within the London market.
The company also pins its increased profits on recently-appointed Managing Director Guy Gittins (pictured, above), who was promoted to the post in June after a five-year stint as Sales Director.
Since then Gittins has invested in tech to improve the company’s internal processes and moved its HQ from Lower Thames Street in the City to its more prestigious offices near Marble Arch on Lower Connaught Street.
“Chestertons is now entering 2019 in the strongest shape it has ever been and with last year’s success behind us, we have now stepped up the search for suitable acquisitions and are especially interested in lettings businesses that we could assimilate into our existing structure,” says Gittins.
