Savills says its UK estate agency branches enjoyed strong finish to 2017 despite “uncertainty”

Savills says its UK residential arm helped grow its group revenue during 2017 “ahead of our previous expectations” as it prepares to publish its full-year results in March. The company’s statement to the stock exchange early this morning reveals that it experienced a stronger than expected finish to the year helped both by its resilient UK residential business but also its presence in several expanding commercial property markets overseas. These include Hong Kong, China, Australia, Japan, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands, the company says. These countries performed better than Savills had expected and helped offset a wobble in the US office market which has been impacted by reduced government spending, and the recent cost of setting up Savills’ Capital Markets operation in New York. It is now part of its wider global property investment advice and brokerage team. Savills says it helped commercial clients buy and sell property assets worth €5.5 billion last year and launched several property funds. 2018 worries But the company’s now largely global business may be not so rosy next year. Savills says that “in the current year, against the backdrop of heightened uncertainty over global economic prospects, geopolitical risks and rising interest rates, we expect…