‘Strong demand’ sees rental giant bullish after transformational acquisitions
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) is hopeful a strong second half of the year could see it outperform current expectations because of current demand in the rental market.
The Bournemouth-headquartered group is the UK’s largest multi-brand property franchisor, with nearly 2,000 branches operating under 18 brands including Belvoir, Fine & Country, Hunters, and Mr and Mrs Clarke. It now manages more than 150,000 rental properties.
It has reported record first-half results on the back of its transformational merger with Belvoir in March, and acquisition of GPEA in May, which owned The Guild of Property Professionals and Fine & Country.
Adjusted pre-tax profits were up 71% to £9.1m for the six months to June, as revenues doubled to £26.9m.
TPFG chief executive Gareth Samples said: “With our highest ever sales agreed pipeline of £47.5m and at least one interest rate reduction behind us, the board is confident that trading remains at least in line with market expectations for the full year.”
The interim dividend has been increased by 30%, which Samples said was based on the group’s “confidence in delivering further profitability in 2024”.
He added: “We have continued to benefit from the strong demand in the lettings market and to achieve growth in sales and financial services despite sales completions being slower than anticipated at a national level which is testament to the excellence across the group.
“Furthermore, the acquisition of GPEA at the period end adds significant further scale and opportunities to grow shareholder value.”
