Strutt & Parker has announced falls in sales and profits after what it described as a disappointing year.
In its full-year results to the end of April, just announced, sales fell 3% to £107.7m, while pre-tax profits fell from £28m to £18.3m.
The results show just what a difference a year makes.
Its results for the year to the end of April 2015 hit new records, amid rumours that Strutt & Parker was targeting new acquisitions, and was speculated also to have a For Sale sign above its own door. Interested purchasers were rumoured at the start of this year to include Countrywide, which was then still on an acquisition trail but has since been closing offices and laying people off.
It is the first time that Strutt & Parker senior partner Andy Martin, who took over in 2009, has reported a decline in year-on-year trading.
The firm said that raising Stamp Duty to 12% for homes worth over £1.5m has had “particular ramifications for London market”, while the 3% Stamp Duty surcharge on the purchase of second homes has affected confidence.
Comments (4)
Wait until the lettings fee ban kicks in sometime next year and see how their profits plummet even further. challenging times for all.
Lettings is still a small part of the S&P business, so the lettings fee ban won’t hurt their target market much. The issue is that this figure brings them up to April 2016…it will be uglier next year and they have been doing the rounds of redundancies etc. They have offset some declines by building the more lucrative parts of their businesses; the farming side is huge and so is the commercial…although not as big as Savills and Knight Frank who they aspire to get close to, but are nowhere near.
There’s London and then there is the rest of the country. London is not just another part of the country…. it’s a different planet.
Until what happens in London starts effecting the rest of the country. A narrow view there AgentV