It’s that time of year when I pore over the latest annual accounts at Companies House of the UK’s largest estate agency groups. This year, one theme stands out above all others. Debt.
The days of low interest rates are over, so the question I keep asking as I read these accounts is simple. Which estate agency groups can genuinely afford to invest in the future of this industry, particularly with the advent of AI and the tech required to keep up, and which are simply servicing yesterday’s borrowing?
In this article I’ll be looking at those with seriously eye-watering numbers of debt – and my next article will focus on those who, by contrast, have performed well. The end of year accounts filed, reflecting different accounting years ending between March 2024 and April 2025, are compared with the previous year.
Chianti Holdings Limited (the holding company for the Lomond group) increased turnover by 43% to £116.6m in 2024. On the surface, that looks impressive. But if you dig deeper, you see the group reported a loss after tax of £32.1m, compared with a £21.2m loss the previous year.
Net liabilities sit at £(86.8)m. Cash on the balance sheet is £42.5m, yet total debt stands at £313.6m. That is not a typo. Over £313m!
Interest costs alone were £32.2m in 2024, up from £19.0m the year before. The operating business actually generated EBITDA of £21.5m, but it is swallowed whole by financing costs.
There were 14 acquisitions in 2024, taking the total since formation to 65, and between the balance sheet date and the accounts being signed, further acquisitions were made, including Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward and others for a combined £126m. The rumours of the high multiples that are being paid are starting to show in the balance sheets of all acquirers.
Now look at Hadrian Holding Limited, the ultimate holding company for the Leaders Romans Group. Revenue increased 24% to £258.9m. On the face of it, that’s strong growth. Managed properties rose by 13% to 73,585.
But the group reported a loss before tax of £67.1m, due primarily to interest expenditure of £49.4m. Net assets have moved from £29.0m in 2023 to net liabilities of £(17.6)m in 2024. Debt stands at £371.0m, up from £322.0m the previous year.
An incremental acquisition facility of £50m was added in 2024, taking total facilities to £125m, alongside a £15m share issue. Multiple acquisitions followed, including Stirling Ackroyd and others.
Again, the model is clear. Grow through acquisition, realise synergies, then cut costs. But with £371m of borrowings sitting on the balance sheet, the question I have is whether the capital structure is built for resilience.
Then we come to Strike Limited. Revenue rose to £31.1m from £13.2m following the acquisition of the Purplebricks’ trade and assets in May 2023. But the loss after tax widened from £19.2m to £37.8m.
Net liabilities are £57.3m, debt stands at £50.4m and post balance sheet, a further £29.7m additional loans from investors were drawn in addition to further share capital which had to be injected after March 2024 to support the business.
The audit opinion makes explicit reference to a material uncertainty in respect of going concern. Despite having secured shareholder support, will Strike survive?
Yopa Property Limited increased revenue 54% to £19.7m. Losses reduced slightly to £3.8m, though the results aren’t fully comparable year on year as the company shortened its accounting period in 2023 to nine months. Net liabilities more than doubled, to £(6.6)m, with debt of £5.7m.
The going concern position continues to rely on support from Daily Mail and General Trust PLC, its ultimate parent company. Improving ancillary revenue is clearly the strategy, but again, this is not internally funded growth. Will the parent company continue to give its support?
For all these agencies carrying a mountain of debt and paying millions a year in interest, surely their priority is survival and refinancing, not innovation and moving forward? This is not criticism. It’s arithmetic.
These latest accounts show a widening divide. On one side, we have highly leveraged acquisition platforms dependent on continual capital support. On the other, profitable operators with strong balance sheets, which I’ll report on in my next article.
The question for 2026 is simple. Who is building for the long term – and who is just keeping the lenders happy?
Paul Smith is the founder and chairman of Spicerhaart.
A fascinating update. It’s certainly a sobering counterpoint to some of the bragging rights these companies enjoy and even as one dives deep into even the largest estate agencies. As is becoming the norm the bottom line, is not quite what it first appears to be.
Call me old-fashioned, but I always compare apples with apples — looking at bottom-line profit rather than simply turnover — doesn’t seem to have much of a place in parts of the UK estate agency world right now.
There are certainly some very good operators out there, and a few businesses taking a genuinely long-term view. But some of the figures above, at least to me, look quite horrifying.
Maybe I am too old school ?
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No. ‘Old School’ allows you to sleep at night!
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I’m sure Connells group will be watching with interest? There may well be a bargain or two on the horizon?
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Us ‘old school’ agents that thought you had to make a profit.
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Savills estate agents report their full year earnings to the market tomorrow and told us all that sales towards the end of 2025 have picked up and Q1 2026 was looking favourable, the complete opposite to every other UK estate agent up and down the country that saw the annual Summer lull in the market extend right up to the end of the year and spilling over into 2026.
The company has also been very quiet with regards to the unrest in the Middle East where Savills are one of the leading market participants.
Another load of b£%lsh*t that will come back to haunt them this year !!!
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While Paul Smith critiques the high debt levels of the Lomond Group (£313m) and LRG (£371m), these figures are often a byproduct of private equity-backed expansion.
Lomond & LRG: Despite the debt, these groups are generating significant EBITDA (£21.5m for Lomond) and have successfully integrated massive portfolios like Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward (KFH) and Stirling Ackroyd. Their debt is an investment in market share that generates consistent revenue through managed properties.
[Sentences removed as they breached posting rules. They will be evaluated and may be reinstated later. Contentious allegations or statements about an individual or company are subject to scrutiny]
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I am disappointed to see my previous comment removed under the guise of “contentious allegations.”
To be clear: referencing public records such as the Samad v Spicerhaart case or employee feedback on public forums like Glassdoor is not an “allegation”—it is a reference to documented fact and public discourse. In an article that purports to “dig deeper” into the transparency of the UK’s largest estate agency groups, it is contradictory to censor readers who provide further context on those very groups.
If we are discussing the long-term viability and ethics of these highly leveraged platforms, then the legal and cultural costs are just as relevant as the interest payments on their £371m debt. True “innovation” in this industry requires accountability, not the selective moderation of factual information.
I look forward to seeing the next article on “profitable operators,” and I hope the comment section there allows for a more open exchange of the full picture.
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The removal of my comment citing the public tribunal case Samad v Spicerhaart is factually incorrect. A court judgment is a matter of public record, not a ‘contentious allegation.’ By removing it, you are misapplying your own moderation policy and providing a skewed version of the industry’s financial and legal health.
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The depressing aspect of this is the opportunity for personal enrichment at the expense of bottom-line accountability.
Using other people’s money to build an estate agency ‘house of cards’, exiting stage left with a sizeable chunk of change and pretending that everything was simply risk/reward.
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