Belvoir goes debt-free as acquisition strategy pays off
Belvoir Group enjoyed its 26th consecutive year of uninterrupted profit growth in 2022 as the firm reaped the rewards of its acquisition strategy.
Revenue at the Grantham-headquartered property franchise and financial services company leapt by 14% last year, with 12% of the £33.7m total coming from newly acquired businesses Mr and Mrs Clarke – a personal estate agency business – and mortgage advisory firm The TIME Group.
Its gross profits increased by £1.3m to £20.3m.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the firm said it had reduced its net debt by £6.7m to £2m, leaving it in a net cash position of £1.2m.
It is now eyeing further acquisitions to support its growth.
Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves said: “2022 was a much stronger year for the property market than many analysts had forecast. However, the mini budget in September crystallised the general pressure on interest rates and created significant uncertainty in the financial markets, which in turn impacted on sales instructions and mortgage applications in Q4 of 2022. Whilst we have seen a bounce-back in our mortgage activity for the year to date, up around 20% on Q4 2022, with house transactions taking up to five months to complete from agreeing a purchase, the increased market activity so far in Q1 will take until H2 to flow through to our financial performance.”
“The entrepreneurial character of our franchisees and financial services advisers means that they strive to make the most of the opportunities presented in all market conditions”, added Gonsalves.
“Despite challenging market conditions, we remain confident that the resilience and diversity of our business model and multi-brand strategy will enable the Group to perform well against the market as a whole during 2023 and beyond.”
