LSL poised to make further acquisitions of agents

LSL, parent company of Your Move, Reeds Rains and the former Halifax estate agency, revealed revenue down, but costs slashed and underlying profits up this morning.

In a very similar picture to that just painted by Rightmove, it said that revenue for last year was down 2.5%. However, costs were cut by 10% and underlying profits rose 55%.

In fact, in 2008, the group made a loss before tax of £6.2m, and last year made a profit before tax of £16.6m. 

This morning the group said it had “significantly outperformed the market” in its surveying division. It won an extension of a contract with Barclays and a new five-year contract with Santander.

In its estate agency services, it turned an underlying loss of £8.4m in 2008 to a profit of £6.7m, largely thanks to stepping up its lettings performance by 24%.

The group said: “All our high street estate agency brands have been profitable in 2009, despite market volumes being half historic norms.”

It claimed a market share of 17% in the last quarter of last year, and reported that its £1 acquisition of Halifax Estate Agencies turned it into the second largest estate agency business in the UK. LSL revealed it would like to make further acquisitions.

Roger Matthews, chairman, said: “Whilst the short-term outlook for the market remains uncertain, the business is significantly more robust through the cycle with a lower cost base, a larger lettings portfolio, a growing asset management business and a surveying business which has extended a number of key contracts and grown its market share.  

“Longer term, the underlying macro-economic conditions in the housing market remain positive.”