Connells group
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Latest property news
Connells results: group grabs 6% more market share as it cashes in ZPG shares worth £38.5m
They say the strongest thrive in difficult markets, and Connells 600 branch network claims to be doing just that, helped by a £38.5m windfall from the sale of its ZPG shares. Parent company Connells Group revealed this morning that it increased market share by 6% last year and now claims to have the largest book of properties for sale in the UK, despite being half the size of rival Countrywide. On the back of this, its pre-tax profits for 2017 increased by 42% to £104.2m from £73.4m, its latest results show. The group also says it has bucked the market and while nationally there has been a 14.7% decline in transactions compared to 2016 – according to the latest Land Registry figures – Connells Group experience only minor slippage. Sales instructions were down by 2%, sales by 3% and exchanges by 4%. The company sells approximately 70,000 properties a year and manages 45,000 lettings with 7,000 staff. Its mortgage division helped too, where income increased by 13%, while lettings income increased by 9% but profits shot up by a third. Land and new homes and conveyancing performed strongly too, as did its survey division where profits increased by 5.4%. “Our…
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Latest property news
Peter Alan acquires Roberts & Co’s lettings
Wales’ largest estate agent, Peter Alan, part of Connells Group, has acquired Roberts & Co Property Management Limited.
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Latest property news
Connells Group pre-tax profits rise, helped by £17m ZPG shares sale
Agent giant Connells Group has today reported a strong performance for 2016 including pre-tax profits of £73.4 million, an increase of 17.4% on the year before. This includes £17 million gained from selling some of its shares in ZPG Plc last year. Until then Connells Group had been one of ZPG’s top ten major shareholders with 16.73 million shares held, a million less than Countrywide – the two were part of a trio of agents including LSL to sign strategic partnerships with what was then just Zoopla in 2010. But Connells Group is doing well even with the ZPG windfall taken out. The group, which includes Connells and William H Brown, Barnard Marcus and Peter Alan, says it sold 8% more properties last year, 5% more new homes, generated 44% more income from its land division and 19% more cash via its new homes team. Other indicators twitching wildly include those at its mortgage arranging business where income rose 18% based on a lending total of £8.2 billion and 10% more mortgages arranged. There were also rises in income for its conveyancing and survey and valuation businesses. “All parts of the business delivered a strong performance and, considered alongside the…
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Movers & Shakers
Connells’ senior appointments
Connells Group has announced three significant promotions to its estate agency senior management team.
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Latest property news
Outstanding performance by Connells
In a difficult year for many, Connells announce a half-year profits rise of 15 per cent to £1.3m.
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Features
Celebrating 80 years in estate agency!
Marc Da Silva meets Stephen Shipperley, Group Executive Chairman of Connells Group about innovation and the art of retaining great people.
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Movers & Shakers
Nik Madan drives Barnard Marcus growth
Connells Group has deployed Nik Madan, Connells Group Lettings Development Director, to drive the growth of Barnard Marcus’ Lettings division. Barnard Marcus, part of the Sequence UK network and subsidiary of Connells Group, has 33 lettings offices and aims to extend this by six more in 2016. Nik, who has spent 18 years in the lettings industry and primarily in the prime central London market, joined Connells Group in 2014 to spearhead the Group’s cold start lettings expansion. He will take over as ARLA President in June 2016. “As well as growing the lettings business across the Connells Group, there will be a focus on taking the already successful Barnard Marcus lettings offering and turning it into the ‘go-to’ lettings agent in London and Surrey,” says Nik. “My aim will be to make the brand synonymous with high quality service and one where we always work in the client’s best interests.”
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Agencies & People
Connells Group acquires Gascoigne Halman
Connells Group has agreed a deal to buy Gascoigne Halman, taking its high street network to nearly 540 branches across the UK. Connells’ decision to purchase Gascoigne Halman, which has 18 branches operating across south Manchester, north east Cheshire and the High Peak, will extend its geographical reach and fits in with the firm’s expansion strategy, and follows on from the acquisition earlier this year of Peter Alan, Adrian Cole & Partners, Cartwrights, Harrisons, Platinum lettings, Selective Lets, among a host of other purchases. Gascoigne Halman will continue to trade under its existing brand with Founder and Managing Director John Halman remaining at its helm. David Plumtree (left), Connells Group Estate Agency Chief Executive, commented, “We are delighted to welcome such a strong and high quality business as Gascoigne Halman to the Connells Group. This acquisition is a good strategic fit for our expansion plans and perfectly complements our branch network. It brings depth and further quality to our existing portfolio and gives us a presence in this region for the first time.” “There are strong synergies between the Connells Group and Gascoigne Halman and we are looking forward to working with John and his team,” he added. Partnering with…
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Agencies & People
Connells Group acquires another lettings firm
Connells Group has successfully completed yet another lettings business acquisition – Selective Lets in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. The purchase of the independent family-run residential lettings and property management business follows on from the recently acquired Cartwrights lettings business in Stafford, continuing the Group’s ambitious acquisition drive. Selective Lets, which covers Dunstable, Houghton Regis, Luton and the surrounding areas, wasestablished in 1986 by Stuart Brown. But with the company’s Founder choosing to retire, Connells were presented with an opportunity to acquire the lettings business which will be transferred into the Dunstable branch. Connells will also retain one of Selective Let’s key members of staff – Tom Spencer Lewis – who, with a wealth of experience, will assist with managing the transfer of the business and continue to offer consistency to landlords and tenants. Stuart Brown, the retiring owner of Selective Lets, commented, “After much discussion and deliberation, I have decided that the best way forward is for our managed property portfolio to be taken over by Connells. With around 170 branches throughout the UK, Connells has the specialist resources and expertise that will be essential for landlords over the coming months and years. After much discussion with their management team, I am…
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Agencies & People
Connells profits rise from £50.2 million to £63.2 million
The Connells Group has announced pre-tax profits of £63.2 million compared to £50.2 million last year, thanks in part to the Group’s decision to sell its shareholding in Zoopla Property Group plc following the successful flotation of Zoopla on the London Stock Exchange in June 2014. The result represents a 26 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the year and a combined 77 per cent rise over the last three years. “Today’s results see another outstanding year for the Connells Group. The housing market which started off strongly, cooled significantly in the second half however, due to our diverse offering and robust business model, we were able to get the best out of the market,” said Connells CEO David Livesey (left). “We are reaping the benefits of prolonged investment particularly in mortgage services, surveying and lettings,” he continued. “Demand for rental property has soared and to take advantage of this we have grown our operations through a combination of organic growth, cold start openings and acquisitions.”
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