Shares in Belvoir ticked up yesterday after the firm issued a statement to the stock exchange expressing confidence.

The firm said that had been “good progress on new franchisee recruitment”.

Its statement follows the Autumn Budget Statement when Chancellor George Osborne announced a 3% surcharge on Stamp Duty Land Tax for buy-to-let purchasers as from next April.

That announcement came on the back of an earlier one about capping the amount of mortgage interest that buy-to-let borrowers will be able to offset against tax.

Yesterday’s unexpected statement by Belvoir did not mention either of these developments, but stressed that 2015 “has been a fantastic year” – seemingly calming any jitters.

It said it had acquired Newton Fallowell, adding 31 outlets, and Goodchilds, adding 14, to grow its network to 213 offices, up from 162 at the end of December 2014, with a 31% growth in the number of franchisees.

The statement went on: “During the first half of the financial year Belvoir reported that one new franchisee had been placed into a new Belvoir office.

“As anticipated in the interim report, the second half of the year has been much stronger with six new franchisees being recruited into new territories, reflecting renewed stability within the market following the General Election.

“In addition, this follows the launch mid-year of Belvoir’s new recruitment website, incorporating the recent brand refresh, and changes to the management and focus of the recruitment team.

“The pipeline of new franchisees for 2016 has also started well with two new prospective franchisees having already committed to Belvoir’s February training course.

“Additionally, resales of Belvoir franchises have played a key part in progressing the Belvoir brand during the year with a further four having been resold to new franchisees during the year.

“These resales are particularly advantageous to Belvoir as the Group benefits from £22,500 per resale from each new franchisee joining, and also by earning commission on the resale.

“In June 2015 the Belvoir Sheffield franchise was resold for the highest-ever value for a Belvoir franchise, at a value of close to £1m, bringing a new owner to the territory and maintaining this office in the top three performing Belvoir offices.”

Mike Goddard, chairman and CEO, said: “2015 has been a fantastic year of development and progress for Belvoir. New franchisees are a key area of focus and efforts to increase this in the second half of the year, including a new recruitment website, are starting to prove effective, resulting in a good pipeline of new franchisees for 2016.

“Together with the two acquisitions of Newton Fallowell and Goodchilds, the group has grown considerably during 2015.”

Yesterday, shares in Belvoir went up 3.40p (2.93%) to 119.40p, compared with a 52-week high of 137.50p last December and a low in April of 109p. Belvoir launched on AIM in February 2012, with shares placed at 75p.