The economic turmoil continues in the wake of the mini-budget, with the Bank of England confirming yesterday that its emergency bond-buying scheme to help pension funds will close tomorrow.

The cost of government borrowing increased on Wednesday while sterling fell against the euro and dollar in the latest signs of market turbulence. But the housing market has so far remained broadly unaffected by the turbulence, according to Winkworth.

The company issued a trading update yesterday stating that its directors still expect that full year pre-tax profits will be at least in line with the market forecast of £2.1m, as a fresh dividend declaration was issued.

The Winkworth statement said: “The Directors of M Winkworth Plc are pleased to announce that the Company will pay a dividend of 2.7p per ordinary share for the third quarter of 2022 to shareholders.

“Trading in the third quarter of the financial year was good, with a sharp increase in sales year-on-year due in part to an overhang of uncompleted transactions from the second quarter, but also as levels of interest remained strong. Lettings showed good growth, held back only by a shortage of available properties, particularly in London.

“We have not as yet witnessed a negative impact from the mini-budget on applications and sales and, although higher mortgage rates are likely to put a cap on further price appreciation, we anticipate that an increased supply of properties and persistent strong demand will support transactions for the rest of the current year.”