Another upbeat trading report from franchise giant  

Belvoir Group has given yet another upbeat trading report to shareholders.

It says in the 10 months to the end of October was ahead of management's expectations, with both the property and financial services divisions secured year-on-year growth. 

The property division achieved gross profit growth of 29 per cent. Income from lettings was 21 per cent up on 2020 resulting from unprecedented demand for rental properties with rents increasing in all areas of the UK, as well as the acquisition of student letting specialist Nicholas Humphreys.

Meanwhile, income from sales was up 65 per cent mainly a result of the strongest market for property transactions seen since 2007. 

The financial services division continued its strong growth with gross profit up 39 per cent.

Belvoir's network of mortgage advisers increased from 202 at the start of the year to 245 by the end of October: 21 were from the acquisition of Nottingham Mortgage Services, the mortgage arm of The Nottingham Building Society.

Chief executive Dorian Gonsalves tells shareholders: “In 2021 we have seen our franchisees and mortgage advisers take advantage of an exceptionally strong sales market.  The sector undoubtedly benefitted hugely from the government’s decision to extend the stamp duty holiday until September 2021, following which we have seen a predictable slowing in the number of new instructions as the market normalises. 

“We anticipate that given the ongoing pent-up demand from buyers, the market will return to more usual transaction levels in 2022.  In the meantime, our current pipelines remain strong and support outperforming our end of year forecasts.”

He says the wider economy is likely to be disrupted again in 2022 “but we are confident in our business model of supporting entrepreneurial franchisees and mortgage advisers to achieve their business ambitions, and that our growth strategy of organic growth coupled with investment in profitable property franchise and mortgage networks will continue to prove successful and deliver long-term shareholder value."