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Written by rosalind renshaw

Countrywide has told shareholders: “It’s all about lettings.”

In its first interim management statement since returning to the stock market, the property chain which is the UK’s largest estate agent and mortgage broker, shone the light almost exclusively on its lettings business.

With income down 1% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, it said comparisons could not really be drawn in the sales and mortgage market because of last year’s Stamp Duty holiday.

However, it insisted that first quarter income this year of £121m was in line with expectations.

Countrywide says it has continued its strong performance in lettings, which is where its key focus remains.

There have been five acquisitions of lettings businesses so far this year, at a cost of £4.5m, with a strong pipeline of prospective acquisitions. Altogether, Countrywide expects to spend £20m on buying lettings businesses this year.

Countrywide has also opened four new Hamptons branches this year – in Sevenoaks, Amersham and Canary Wharf, plus a new lettings business in Paddington.

Countrywide said that mortgage availability had been increasingly lately, with lower pricing and a reduction in the size of deposit required. It said government initiatives had created “positive momentum” around the residential property market, but the effect of this on transactions would only become apparent in the coming months.

It said that the next three to six months would be key to establishing whether housing transactions would pick up.

Chief executive Grenville Turner went out of his way to express pride that Countrywide had won best large agent in the UK for the fifth year running in the ESTAs.

Countrywide floated in March on the London Stock Exchange, raising £207m.

Comments

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    As normal no educated debate on Lettings being key not sales, just a slagging of CW, why not have a word with yourself and not post rubbish every time a decent business is mentioned?

    • 07 May 2013 13:40 PM
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    I've recently been looking to buy a house and at least two of the Countrywide Agents I encountered don't even know or blatantly ignore the requirements of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, regarding transactional decisions, even when it was pointed out to them.

    They also pass on your details to the nearest agent where you currently live and they in turn start stuffing things thorugh your door and phone you on the assumption you will be selling. The local CW agent told me that in 15 years she has not had any formal training from Countrywide; she probably has but has forgotton when it was and what is was about!

    • 03 May 2013 18:51 PM
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    Keith, when you sell all of your 'saleable stock' then you need to get more stock from somewhere.......

    • 03 May 2013 16:05 PM
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    Meow!

    Get back to work.

    • 03 May 2013 13:08 PM
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    Dave - perhaps your "proactivity" should be chanelled into selling those instructions ALREADY ON your books, instead of trying to poach those of others...?

    • 03 May 2013 12:52 PM
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    @keith almond - It's called being proactive Keith, why don't you try it once in a while. Ha!

    • 03 May 2013 11:52 AM
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    oh well more door knocking, tout letters, and call me cards on the way then ;-)

    • 03 May 2013 07:01 AM
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