results
-
Latest property news
Foxtons turns the corner as initiatives deliver higher revenues and profits
Years of terrible results appear to be behind the estate agency, which has taken action recently to appease unhappy shareholders.
Read More » -
Latest property news
After closing six branches, has Foxtons finally turned the corner?
Read how Foxtons latest trading update reveals stabilising overall revenues after several years of reductions and also increased lettings revenue.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Improved lettings and commission rates protect Winkworth from declining sales market
Increasing lettings income and higher property sales commission rates have protected Winkworth for the overall struggling housing market.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Hunters reports a ‘strong’ first half of 2018 but ‘slight’ rise in turnover
York-based Hunters says it has enjoyed a ‘strong’ first six months of the year revealing turnover marginally ahead of 2017 and also the opening of several new branches. Although the 26-year-old company hasn’t revealed any financials, this would suggest it has turned over £17 million during the period, the same as its half-year achievement last year. The company, which at 200-plus branches is the smallest of the stock market-listed franchised estate agents in the UK behind Belvoir and Martin & Co, says it enjoyed a promising first six months “despite the widely reported challenging conditions in the housing market”. Acquisition fund Since January the company has opened nine new branches and its acquisition fund, which helps franchisees bankroll the purchase of rivals or property portfolios in their areas, has prompted four such acquisitions since September last year, the company says. “We will continue to focus on delivering a market-leading service to clients, laying the foundations for further growth this year,” says Glynis Frew, the company’s Chief Executive and now the only woman to head up a stock- market-listed estate agent following the departure of Alison Platt from Countrywide earlier this year. Hunters’ update failed to excite City investors. The company’s…
Read More » -
Latest property news
A tale of two agents: Hunters celebrates as Foxtons sinks
Two leading estate agents have released their latest trading statements over the past 24 hours but as performance goes, Foxtons and Hunters might as well be on different planets, their results reveal. Hunters this morning reports that its franchised sales and lettings business is in rude health. Chairman and MP Kevin Hollinrake will say at the firm’s AGM later today that the company has already seen 12 new branches join its network and that there is a strong pipeline of sales including increased instructions during the first four months of this year, up by 5.4% year-on-year. He also says the first half of the year is shaping up to be “better than anticipated” and that its customer service approval rate has increased to 96%. Foxtons At the same time Foxtons has also released its latest trading statement, which paints an entirely gloomier picture – even though both companies are competitors in many parts of London. At its AGM yesterday the company revealed that its sales, lettings and mortgage businesses performed worse during the first quarter of 2018 than the year before, warning that “conditions in the London property market remain very challenging with sales volumes lower than the year before”.…
Read More » -
Latest property news
Countrywide update reveals sliding revenues but improving market share
Read how results from first three months of 2018 reveal mixed results for Countrywide as Chairman Peter Long takes business 'back to basics'.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Foxtons CEO cashes in shares worth £800,000
Payday for Nic Budden comes despite tanking profits at the company which he has blamed on 'historically low' sales transaction levels in London.
Read More » Purplebricks blames slow start to Spring market on weather, training and economy
Purplebricks has hit its first purple patch after it was revealed today that group revenues for the financial year are likely to be 5% lower than its target of £98 million. In a statement released this morning, the company says a difficult few weeks during late February and early March are to blame for the drop in performance, although Purplebricks says overall group cashflow is on track to be double that of last year’s, helped by good performances from its US and Australian operations. It blames the slowdown on “macro issues” within the economy – presumably the ongoing Brexit jitters – plus the ‘Beast from the East’ storm and the fact that 10% of its LPEs were withdrawn from the market for a training course during late February and early March. These factors drove down sales instructions by 17% during the first three weeks of this month year-on-year, Purplebricks reveals. New instructions “While Purplebricks has experienced strong growth in its UK division to date and it continues to build market share in both the total estate agency market and hybrid estate agency sector in the UK, it has experienced lower than expected levels of new instructions for the Company during…
Read More »-
Latest property news
Countrywide shares drop 20% in a day to all-time low
Countrywide shares dropped by 20.3% yesterday following its trading update revealing what it described as “disappointing” results and warning of lower-than-expected profits. The share price tumbled by 16% from £1.38p a share to £1.14p a share in the first hours of trading but rather than rallying, continued its downward trend to finish at £1.10p, its lowest price ever. Countrywide’s shares have dipped to near this in recent months – £1.07p in September and £1.08p in November both last year. The current price is an 83% reduction from its peak of £6.94p in November 2014. City concern over the company’s performance and its inevitable drift downwards have been driven largely by a deteriorating sales market, its cumbersome size following years of energetic market share grabbing, an expensive branch and staff reduction programme, and the encroaching threat of hybrid agents such as Purplebricks within it score middle market. Despite attempts to fight back with its own hybrid offering, yesterday’s results suggested Countrywide has a while to go before its on an even keel. Its results revealed a “disappointing fourth quarter performance” in sales and letting, where income dropped by 14% last year. Countrywide shares But it wasn’t all grim news yesterday. Countrywide’s…
Read More » -
Latest property news
Foxtons revenues down by 25% during Q1
Foxtons revenues across its three core areas of business fell during the first three months of the year compared to the same period of 2016, the company has revealed. Commission from sales sank by 44.5% from £20m to £11.1 million, lettings revenues were down slightly from £15.8m to £15.5m and mortgage broking fees fell by £500,000 to £2.1m. The company says the dramatic drop in sales revenue has been created by last year’s rush by landlords and second homes buyers to buy properties before the Stamp Duty increase deadlines. This has left a sizeable hole in its first quarter 2017 group revenues which dropped by 25% from £38.4m last year to £28.7m. But Foxtons’ board says this was “expected”. Sales commission Similar reductions in revenue particularly from sales commissions reported in its 2016 accounts were said by Foxtons chairman Garry Watts to be caused by a substantial reduction in transactions in London, driven principally by rising house prices, stamp duty changes and the EU referendum. The results have pushed the company’s strategy off-course somewhat – it’s stated aim to investors for some time now has been to target “higher-volume, higher-value residential property markets within London”. Its shares on the London…
Read More »
- 1
- 2
