Belvoir
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Latest property news
Hunters opened 37 branches during 2017 and increased income by nearly 10%, results reveal
Franchise sales and lettings group Hunters says it outperformed the market during 2017 and increased its income by 9.8% to £38.9m, up from £35.4m in 2016, despite the “well-documented challenging conditions in the UK”. Today’s results come from its latest trading update to the City and includes details of its aggressive expansion, which included 37 new branch openings last year, taking it to a total of 213 branches. Like its competitors Martin & Co, EweMove and Belvoir, Hunters is hoping the choppy trading conditions within the UK property market at the moment will persuade more independent agents to seek safe anchorage in its branded franchise network. Cost reductions “Market conditions will continue to encourage independent operators to be part of a stronger group that can also offer significant cost reductions, particularly in terms of portal charges for Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket,” its update says. “We are already seeing an improved level of enquiries from high quality independent businesses. Our financial strength will enable us to both expand our network and reward shareholders with an attractive dividend.” In December last year Hunters began listing its properties centrally via OnTheMarket.com, rather than leaving it to individual franchisees. The City would seem to…
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Latest property news
Tenant fees ban and extra red tape will cause ‘bonfire of the small letting agents’
Before you read on, if you haven’t signed the petition against the ban, SIGN HERE! It needs just a few more signatures for it to become a question that the House of Commons must examine. The lettings sector is to see many smaller agencies exit the market as increased regulation and next year’s tenant fees ban began to bite, it has been claimed. Franchised lettings giant Belvoir has revealed in its latest trading update that the group expects to help its franchisees ‘mop up’ as increasing numbers of smaller local rivals shut down over the next year or more. Belvoir also says it is doing well, despite its failed attempt to merge with rival The Property Franchise Group – owner of Martin & Co – in October last year. Fees from franchisees increased by 22% and overall group revenue increased by 13% to £9.9 million, both figures boosted by its first full-year contributions from Northwood, which it bought in June 2016, and the recruitment of six new franchise owners. Belvoir also says it is helping its franchisees expand as much through rental portfolio buy-ups as franchised branch openings. The latest results show that its network hoovered up 23 such portfolios,…
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Latest property news
2018 will see the lettings industry consolidate, predicts Belvoir
The UK’s largest franchise firm Belvoir says a rush of acquisitions by its franchisees of competitor companies both during 2017 and into the New Year suggest the lettings industry faces a wave of consolidation as the fees ban looms. Belvoir says its lawyers are currently processing a “robust pipeline” of competitor acquisitions by its franchisees in recent months. The company says these acquisitions will be completed during the first three months of the year and that the “appetite for securing portfolio acquisitions reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of our franchisees who are adapting to changes within the sector and seeing opportunity for growth as the sector consolidates,” says CEO Dorian Gonsalves. Belvoir also says it helped its franchisees buy up 23 competitors last year, adding 2,264 properties to its lettings business. This brings the total number of properties managed by Belvoir Group companies to over 58,000, and helped increase its network revenue by £3.3 million, exceeding the £3 million target set by its board for 2017, and raising its head office fee revenue by £350,000. Helping hand The high number of competitor acquisitions has also been boosted by Belvoir’s Assisted Acquisitions programme, which encourages existing franchisees to buy local firms, helped…
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Features
Was it all purple? Who were the 2017 property industry winners and losers?
Overall the London Stock Exchange has risen by approximately 7% over the past 12 months although it featured some dramatic drops during February, May and September as Brexit has taken its toll. These have been mirrored within the property industry as both Brexit but also several much reviled government initiatives including higher Stamp Duty and the fees ban, have been announced. And the ten property sales and letting companies that list on the two main stock markets in London – the LSE and AIM – have been part of this story. Here’s how they’ve fared. Share prices Purplebricks – up by 152% After a stunning start to the year which saw its share price rise from £1.50 to £5.13 by August, a recent BBC investigation, several ASA reprimands and problems with review sites, investors have cooled their ardour for its stock, which finishes the year at £3.78p – but still 152% up on January. Savills – up by 41% While everyone’s been talking about Purplebricks, Savills share price has been skyrocketing without too many people noticing, up from £6.88 in January to £9.71 today – an increase of 41%, helped mainly by its global exposure to both booming commercial and…
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Latest property news
UK’s largest franchise agency group to become leading mortgage broker
Belvoir is to roll out its recent-acquired mortgage broker business Brook Financial Services across its 300-strong branch network of four brands – Belvoir, Northwood, Goodchilds and Newton Fallowell – in a bid to become one of the high street’s larger agency mortgage brokers. The announcement, which will help reassure City investors following Belvoir’s recent failed attempt to merge with Martin & Co parent company The Property Franchise Group, reveals that the roll-out is beginning with its most sales-focussed brand, Newton Fallowell. It has 39 branches in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Rutland and Staffordshire and was itself bought by Belvoir in July 2015. Brook, which trades as the Mortgage Advice Bureau and is based in Barnsley at a business park (pictured, above), was bought by Belvoir for £2 million in July this year and its services are now available within 25 of the Newton Fallowell branches, including 17 new ones since Brook was acquired. This, coupled with more business from independent estate agents who use Brook’s services, helped the financial services firm write new business worth £570,000 over the past two months, putting it 40% ahead of its performance last year. “The roll out to the Newton Fallowell offices is underway…
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Latest property news
Lettings legislation: is Government listening to the professionals?
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn budget has failed to address the challenges faced by Britain’s ten million renters, says Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves (pictured). “We are disappointed that despite persuasive arguments from many key financial and industry experts, there has been no reversal of the punitive tax changes that were imposed on landlords by George Osborne in 2015,” says Dorian. “We believe that reversing those tax changes would have been an important factor in helping to increase the supply of rental properties in this country and would alleviate some of the pressure on a Private Rental Sector (PRS) that is facing unprecedented stress as tenant demand continues to increase and less good quality housing is available to accommodate this. Dorian says that it isn’t just a lack of a deposit and affordability issues in buying a home that aree driving tenant demand – “In many ways this budget seemed almost to put an unhealthy emphasis on home ownership and failed to recognise that many young people are actively choosing to rent rather than to become first time buyers. “The reasons for renting are numerous, the English Housing Survey of 2015-16 showed that first time buyers are increasingly likely to live in…
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Latest property news
It’s over! Belvoir pulls out of merger attempt with Martin & Co parent company
Franchise letting agency giant Belvoir has ended its attempted takeover bid for rival The Property Franchise Group (TPFG), parent company of Martin & Co and five other brands including hybrid agency EweMove. Belvoir today announced that it was ending its attempts to persuade TPFG shareholders to back Belvoir’s attempts to buy TFPF and merge the two businesses. Despite having considerable goodwill, Belvoir has admitted that without the support of the key TPFG directors and their share-owning backers a deal would be difficult, if not impossible. Belvoir’s statement confirming the withdrawal of the merger offer says: “The Belvoir board is disappointed that the TPFG board has declined to enter into a dialogue, not least given that the board itself has recognised the scale that would be achieved in combining the two businesses, and moreover, given a number of common institutional shareholders have publicly stated their support, in principle, for a dialogue between the boards of Belvoir and TPFG with regard to the Possible Merger Offer”. End of the bid The end of the bid to merge the two businesses has been prompted by the timetable that companies entering into a takeover must stick to, as set out in the City Code…
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Latest property news
Belvoir funds ten more acquisitions by its Northwood franchisees of local rivals
Belvoir has taken a moment from its attempt to merge with rival Martin & Co to reveal that ten of its Northwood franchisees have acquired local rival businesses, adding 1,000 additional properties under management and £140,000 a year to Belvoir’s group revenues. Northwood was bought by Belvoir in June last year, adding 86 branches to the group’s total, which now stands at over 300. Belvoir says the uptick in Northwood franchisees acquiring rivals – which includes five in the past two months alone – has been prompted by Belvoir introducing its Assisted Acquisition programme to Northwood, half of whose franchisees have now signed up to join. In practical terms, this means Belvoir searches out local rivals ripe for acquisition and then helps the Northwood franchisees broker and fund the deals as well as providing legal, due diligence and business advice support. Northwood franchisees Belvoir says it usually agrees to fund up to 30% of the cost of the acquisition, which are “nearly always full business transfers and not tenders for the management of properties,” the company says. It also claims that Northwood has been growing fast over the past 18 months helped by the assisted acquisition programme but also organic…
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Latest property news
What went wrong? Belvoir reveals merger with TPFG DID have green light
Belvoir has responded to the brush-off delivered by The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) on 19th October which said the merger of the two businesses “would not be in the best interests” of TPFG. TPFG owns franchised lettings giant Martin & Co and online agency EweMove as well as CJ Hole, Ellis & Co, Parkers and Whitegates with a combined branch count of almost 300 and 50,000 tenanted properties. The board of directors at Belvoir says it is “disappointed” by the response and that the merger offer made by Belvoir was not an unsolicited one. Also, reading in between the lines of the statement, TPFG appears to have led Belvoir to believe the merger offer would be well received. Belvoir merger with TPFG Belvoir says there was previously a “willingness to engage in discussions expressed to the Board on more than one occasion by TPFG”. The company says its merger offer was structured to reflect these discussions, which included issuing 0.7150 new shares per TPFG share and 52.2p in cash per TPFG share, but says the cash element of the offer could be reduced and the number of shares increased to reduce the cost of the merger. Belvoir also says it…
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Latest property news
Martin & Co brush off Belvoir merger offer, citing EweMove success
Martin & Co parent company The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has today confirmed that it is rejecting yesterday’s Belvoir merger offer, citing the success of its hybrid arm EweMove, and its strong dividend performance. “The Board is confident in delivering further growth and returns to TPFG shareholders through both capital appreciation and its progressive dividend policy and sees no merit in any further discussions with Belvoir,” a statement from its board says. The statement also says the offer significantly undervalues TPFG, does not add any premium to TPFG’s shares, and that the cash offer would be funded through a new credit facility, “significantly increasing the level of debt in the enlarged group”. TPFG also says the company’s dividends to its shareholder have been stronger than Belvoir’s over the past three years, and that the extra debt would put this “under pressure”. TPFG also says that its EweMove business, which it bought last year in a £15m deal, puts it in a stronger position than Belvoir, which does not have an online or hybrid business. “We are pleased to report that [EweMove] has performed in line with management expectations since the half year and has been cash generative during this period,”…
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