Diversification pays dividends for high-flying property group
Belvoir Group has enjoyed another stellar 12 months, marking its 23rd year of uninterrupted profit growth.
The Grantham-headquartered property franchise saw its revenue rocket to £19.5 million – a 43 per cent increase on the previous year’s figure – and says its pre-tax profits are likely to be “comfortably” ahead of expectations.
Belvoir’s property division grew by 6 per cent during the year, overcoming challenges posed by the tenant fee ban and political and economic uncertainty, while management service fees, the firm’s core income from franchisees, increased by 4 per cent to £8.8 million.
However, the biggest plus for the firm came in the shape of its financial services division, which delivered 148 per cent revenue growth following the acquisition of MAB (Gloucester) in November 2018.
At the end of the year, Belvoir’s portfolio of managed properties was up 7 per cent to a company record 67,000.
Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves said: “2019 was another very strong year for the Group and is testament to the resilience of the Belvoir franchise business model with our franchisees achieving growth in a year when they were expected to lose 10 per cent of their lettings revenue from 1 June, and yet by Q4 2019 franchise network revenue was noticeably higher than it was in Q4 2018.
“We could not be more delighted by our strategy to invest in financial services in 2017. At that time our number of advisers was just 13 servicing 20 of our Newton Fallowell offices, and now we have 166 financial advisers across the UK, all operating under the Mortgage Advice Bureau brand. Financial Services has been, and continues to be, a considerable success for Belvoir.
“The recent acquisition of Lovelle extends our franchise network and, as primarily a sales-focused estate agency, offers the opportunity to increase revenue streams from both lettings and financial services.
“The Board remains committed to its growth strategy of capitalising on further consolidation within the property sector and through diversification into other property-related services. With January 2020 signalling a marked improvement in both sales and mortgage transaction numbers, I am optimistic about the growth opportunities for Belvoir in the year ahead.”
