Franchise giant Winkworth has told its shareholders that its revenues for 2017 are likely to be less than five per cent below the previous year, which had been boosted by sales ahead of the stamp duty surcharge.
“It is pleasing to report that the company's revenues in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2017 all grew year-on-year and, subject to audit, profits before tax are expected to be slightly ahead of market expectations of £1.3m” says the agency’s statement released through the London Stock Exchange.
The company describes the current residential landscape as “challenging” but even so it opened seven new offices during 2017, raising the total number of franchised outlets at year end to 99.
An additional three offices will open in the first quarter of 2018 and the company says it is expecting further opportunities both to convert existing businesses to the Winkworth brand and to recruit new franchisees.
"At the national level, transactions were below average in 2017, although over the course of the year we experienced an improvement in activity in prime central London. Our lettings business is going from strength to strength and we are pleased to have proven the resilience of the brand under testing market conditions” explains Dominic Agace, chief executive officer of Winkworth.
“While the outlook for the market in 2018 remains uncertain, we start the year with an increased number of offices and a pipeline of high quality applicants” he adds.
The company says it will announce its final results for 2017 towards the end of March.
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