Shares in Countrywide rose last week after the firm announced that it will be paying a special dividend worth a total of £20m – the gain it made in selling part of its stake in Zoopla.

The dividend will be worth 9p per share and will be paid out alongside its interim divided on September 15.

Countrywide sold some 9m shares in Zoopla when it floated, but still holds a 4.1% stake.

Countrywide’s shares ended last week at 523p. But only three months ago they hit a peak of almost 700p.

LSL sold a similar number of shares in Zoopla as Countrywide and retains a 2.6% stake. LSL announced earlier that it would be handing its earnings from its sale of Zoopla shares to its shareholders.

It will provide further details on August 5 when its interim results are due, but like Countrywide, it is expected to pay the dividend in September.

LSL shares ended last week at 376p, having fallen from 435p earlier in June.