Hunters has grown its lettings income by 20% year-on-year, it has said in a trading update.

The group said the start of the year exceeded expectations, with a strong performance across all divisions.

It opened 32 branches last year, and ten more in the first four months of this year.

It has also made some acquisitions and says it will continue to review more.

Hunters said it expects to post results for the first half of the year ahead of the board’s expectations and “significantly” ahead of the equivalent period last year.

Hunters, which opened in 1992 with a single office, now has 170 outlets across the UK, mainly run by franchisees.