Major lettings firm forecasts more agency acquisitions in growing buy to let sector

Belvoir Lettings, which operates over 210 outlets across the UK, has seen its pre-tax profit surge beyond £2m at Belvoir Lettings.

In a report covering the "pivotal year" of 2015 for the AIM-listed company, Belvoir posted a profit before tax, up 25 per cent on the previous year. Revenues grew 19 per cent to £6.9m.

As reported on Letting Agent Today, Belvoir purchased the Newton Fallowell network of 31 outlets in July and the Goodchilds network of 14 outlets in October. The deals helped the company to increase its network by almost a third to 212 outlets.

"The board appreciated the support of our shareholders in funding the mid-year acquisitions and I am confident that the coming year will see the full impact of our successful multi-brand strategy as the new brands become further incorporated into the group” says chief executive Mike Goddard. 

"I expect Belvoir to be at the forefront of further consolidation within the property franchising industry as the benefits of centralised franchising expertise and economies of scale become more attractive" he says. 

The company is also upbeat about the future of private lettings despite the recent spate of attacks from Chancellor George Osborne.

“The percentage of landlords who use a letting agent to provide specialist advice and expertise is set to increase, as is the number of dwellings within the private rented sector” Belvoir’s Dorian Gonsalves says. 

“In addition to increasing supply of new builds, changes to stamp duty for landlords and second-home buyers was announced along with changes to mortgage interest tax relief, both of which will result in higher acquisition costs and operating costs for landlords. Apart from a rush to beat changes in stamp duty, these changes do not appear to have had any negative impact on the housing market” he insists.