Belvoir’s performance last year was significantly better than expected, the company said yesterday.

In a trading update ahead of full end-of-year results in March the Belvoir Group reported a growth in revenue of 12% to £21.6m, supported by the strong performance of the Lovelle network acquired 12 months ago.

Management service fees increased 3% to £9m, while revenue from the financial services increased by 13% to £9.6m.

Belvoir had already announced that it would repay all furlough money, reimburse staff for lost earnings and reinstate the suspended dividend for 2019 thanks to the company’s strong performance

Dorian Gonsalves, chief executive, noted that the group has grown profits for 24 consecutive years.

He said in a trading update: “All parts of the business have performed exceptionally well despite the backdrop of the pandemic.

“This has been largely thanks to our employees, who have worked tirelessly to support our networks, and to our property franchisees and financial services advisers, who in turn have continued to deliver the best possible service to their clients.”

He added: “The board is mindful that we are not yet through the pandemic and it is too early in 2021 to gauge the medium-term impact of Covid-19.

“We are conscious that the stamp duty holiday is due to end on March 31, however we are confident that having traded successfully through 2020, we are well positioned to deal with any further challenges in 2021.”