Belvoir, which was traditionally a lettings-only specialist, says that over half of its network is now trained to offer sales, with numbers continuing to increase every month.

Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir’s managing director, said: “The fact that over 50% of the network is now able to offer sales is an important milestone for Belvoir and serves to strengthen our network as well as putting franchise owners in a strong position to respond to changing markets.

“Belvoir launched a sales pilot in 2013 which proved to be very successful, and one year later this was rolled out across the network.

“Half of the entire network has now completed the Belvoir estate agency training course, which is provided by top industry professionals and equips franchise owners with all the information they need to provide a top-quality service.

“Most Belvoir offices currently offering sales are reporting that the majority of transactions are from landlords selling or expanding their portfolios. This further supports our view that the private rental sector remains buoyant.

“Some of our pilot sales offices, such as Belvoir Andover, have embraced sales to such a level that they have become among the leading residential sales agents in their area.”

He said that one office, in Peterborough, had identified a niche area, forging relationships with developers and housing associations to offer help to buy schemes, shared ownership and builder gifted deposits.

He said these initiatives had helped boost turnover to record levels.