Profit growth continues for Belvoir

Profit after tax at £7.4 million was marginally ahead of 2021 and revenue increased 14 per cent to £33.7m.

The group includes estates agents in Dudley, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Telford, Walsall, Wednesbury and Wednesfield.

It said that 12 per cent of revenue growth was down to acquired businesses. Pre-tax profit was two per cent lower at £9.1m

Belvoir bought Mr and Mrs Clarke, a personal estate agency business operating through 10 partners, a year ago and The TIME Group, a network of 63 financial services advisers, in May for £4.5m.

Belvoir's mortgage adviser network was also increased by 17 per cent to 284

Chief executive Dorian Gonsalves said\; "2022 was a much stronger year for the property market than many analysts had forecast. However, the mini budget in September crystallised the general pressure on interest rates and created significant uncertainty in the financial markets, which in turn impacted on sales instructions and mortgage applications in the final quarter of 2022.

"Whilst we have seen a bounce-back in our mortgage activity for the year to date, up around 20 per cent on the final quarter of 2022, with house transactions taking up to five months to complete from agreeing a purchase, the increased market activity so far in the first quarter will take until the second half to flow through to our financial performance.

"The entrepreneurial character of our franchisees and financial services advisers means that they strive to make the most of the opportunities presented in all market conditions. Our property franchisees benefit from the strong recurring lettings fees earned from their managed property portfolios, and our financial advisers are able to draw on their extensive bank of clients who are looking to remortgage.

"Despite challenging market conditions, we remain confident that the resilience and diversity of our business model and multi-brand strategy will enable the group to perform well against the market as a whole during 2023 and beyond."