Belvoir says that its growth strategy remains on track underpinned by a strong pipelines in sales and mortgages, while its operation in the lettings sector remains strong.

The company has announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022, revealing a 12% increase in revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2022, to £15.4m compared to £13.8m for the corresponding period a year earlier.

But Belvoir saw its first half 2022 profit before tax fall to £4m, down from £4.8m in the first half of 2021.

Financial Highlights

·    12% increase in revenue to £15.4m (H1 2021: £13.8m), of which 1% relates to the growth in the underlying business and 11% to corporate acquisitions in 2021 and 2022

·    1% increase in Management Service Fees (MSF) to £5.3m (H1 2021: £5.2m)

·    20% increase in Financial Services revenue to £7.7m (H1 2021: £6.4m)

·    Gross profit split of 60% lettings: 17% sales: 19% financial services: 4% other (H1 2021: 56%, 21%, 18%, 5%) reverting to the pre-2021 ratio with a strong contribution from recurring lettings income

·    Administrative costs up 29% to £5.4m (H1 2021: £4.2m) reflecting the enlarged group and a return to a more normal cost base post-Covid

·    Profit before tax of £4.0m (H1 2021: £4.8m)

·    Basic earnings per share of 8.7p (2021: 9.9p)

·    Unchanged interim dividend of 4.0p per share (H1 2021: 4.0p) payable on 28 October 2022

·    H1 results in line with management’s expectations

 Operational Highlights

·    Acquisition of The TIME Group, a network of 63 highly motivated financial services advisers, for £3.8m net cash on 23 May 2022, funded from existing cash reserves

·    Acquisition of Mr and Mrs Clarke, a specialist concierge-style personal estate agency business operating through 10 partners, for £0.05m on 11 March 2022, funded from existing cash reserves

·    Nine (H1 2021: five) franchisee assisted acquisitions completed in the year to date contributing £2.2m (H1 2021: £1.3m) of acquired franchisee turnover

Dorian Gonsalves, CEO of Belvoir Group, commented: “I am delighted to report that our strong lettings base, investment in further franchise networks and diversification into financial services have all helped to mitigate the correction in the level of property sales transactions after the exceptional year for the housing market in 2021.

“During the first half of 2022 the Board continued to pursue its growth strategy to strengthen the Group’s service offering. The acquisition of Mr and Mrs Clarke provided the Group with a platform from which to develop its personal agency model, and the acquisition of The TIME Group added a further 63 advisers to our already established and successful financial services network.

“The Group’s investment in businesses to expand both the property and the financial services divisions, and the strong pipelines of house sales and related mortgages at the start of H2, underpin the Board’s confidence of achieving managements’ expectations for the full financial year.”