Smoove pauses agency AML product

Conveyancing software provider Smoove’s flagship agency product has been “paused.”

Smoove Start was launched last year, providing a platform for agents to sign up clients, conduct due diligence checks and for buyers to complete property information.

The brand previously said the response from agents has “exceeded expectations” but revealed in a trading update for the 12 months to the end of March 2023 yesterday that it will be refocused due to market conditions.

The update said: “Smoove Start, which targets estate agents has been refocused to emphasise the fee earning potential for estate agents through referral of cases to (conveyancing comparsion brand) eConveyancer.  

“This change of emphasis is in response to uncertainty in the housing market following the Government’s minibudget and will involve lower support costs for Smoove Start as the software offering for ID, anti-money laundering checks and upfront information is paused.”

The announcement said the company continues to trade in line with the board’s expectations, with around a 7% increase in revenues to £21m, while conveyancing completions grew 44% to 53,224.

Conveyancing instructions rose 5% to 69,976, the update said.

However, both transactional and remortgage instructions “fell sharply” in the third quarter following the mini-Budget, but “recovered significantly” towards the end of the brand's financial year.

Jesper With-Fogstrup, chief executive of Smoove plc, said: “While last year was not without its challenges, we repositioned where necessary while the successful launch of new products added to our flexibility and resilience. 

“The upswing during the fourth quarter was testament to the strength of our model as we successfully grew the number of instructions and completions.”