Estate agency franchise business Winkworth is set to open three new offices early this year, taking the total to 102.

Seven new office openings in 2017 took the brand to a total of 99. More openings are set to follow.

The openings in 2017 included three new franchises in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; Sunningdale, Berkshire; and Surbiton, Greater London. There were three conversions in Dartmouth and Torbay, both in Devon, and in Kingsbury, London. An existing franchisee opened an office in Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire.

It also received more enquiries from potential new franchisees last year, up 26% on the year before.

CEO Dominic Agace described 2017 as “a brilliant year for the growth of our network” and said this year would also be one for expansion.

The growth heralds positive news for the franchising business, after it reported a slide in revenues and a drop in pre-tax profits in September last year, amid an 18% fall in the number of properties sold.

In the six months to the end of June its interim revenues were down 7.6% to £2.54m, while pre-tax profits plunged 25.2% to £0.54m, down from £0.72m for the same period the year before.