£2m of new acquisition deals to come, says franchise giant Belvoir

Belvoir, the UK's largest property franchise, says its trading during the first quarter of this year suggests it’s outperforming its expectation when it comes to lettings - and indeed outperforming on sales and financial services too.

In a trading statement ahead of yesterday’s Annual General Meeting of the company, Belvoir reported that the growth in management service fees from lettings was 6.3 per cent - “noticeably ahead of the reported year-on-year rental index of 1.2 per cent.”

Growth for sales’ management service fees was 10.3 per cent despite a slump of 1.5 per cent in the volume of property transactions, while net banking from financial services on a like-for-like basis was up 20 per cent.

So far in 2019, Belvoir's Assisted Acquisitions programme - a key part of its growth strategy - has supported six franchisees to acquire local competitors, adding £1.2m of network revenue, nearly 800 managed properties and over £100,000 of recurring management fees. 

The statement adds: “There are still £2m of deals currently with lawyers and a strong pipeline of further opportunities to underpin the group's growth target for 2019.”

The company has also announced that its founder, Mike Goddard, has now stepped down as chair of the company, two years after quitting as its chief executive officer. Goddard founded Belvoir with his wife Stephanie in 1995.

He is succeeded as chair by industry veteran Michael Stoop, who has 40 years of agency experience behind him, much of it in the franchise sector.