Countrywide’s spectacular results, announced yesterday, showed the group’s strongest performance in seven years.

The firm also said it is on course to deliver its best year on record.

As reported in yesterday’s Eye, the UK’s largest chain reported income of £334.5m in the first half of this year – up 29% on the same period last year – and pre-tax profits of £37.1m, up an extraordinary 202%.

Shareholders will be receiving a special dividend of 9p – payable after Countrywide sold part of its stake in Zoopla when the portal floated on the stock market – plus an interim dividend of 5p.

Countrywide’s estate agency business brought in £101.3m, up 17%. The London and premier market – including, notably, Hamptons and John D Wood – alone brought in an additional £57.8m.

While reporting a 20% increase in house exchanges, it said that its fees had stayed flat and that pipeline conversion was taking longer, with the Mortgage Market Review having an impact.

Countrywide also reported that the average home in England and Wales is now worth 97% of its 2007 peak, or 94% excluding London. In London, a property is now worth 126% of 2007 prices.

However, Countrywide reported that transactions are well below those of 2007.

In its lettings business, Countrywide reported a 20% rise in income to £64.265m.

Countrywide has also had a major growth spurt, with 700 new roles created between January and June this year. Through these, plus acquisitions, there are now 12,000 employees.

Altogether, Countrywide now has 1,369 estate agency and lettings offices and 47 local high street brands.

Next month, Grenville Turner steps down as chief executive to become non-executive chairman of Countrywide, when new chief executive Alison Platt takes up her role.