The first half year is expected to end better than anticipated according to Hunters

Hunters, one of the UK’s largest national sales and lettings estate agency and franchise businesses, held  their 2017 Annual General Meeting  on Friday 19th May 2017.

The Chairman, Kevin Hollinrake, made the following statement: “In the four months to April this year we have opened six new Hunters branches through organic growth and a further 15 branches with the March acquisition of Bristol-based Besley Hill, bringing our network to 204 branches as at 30 April 2017 (April 2016: 172). The Group has a strong pipeline of agreed sales and has increased instructions in the four months to April against the same period last year, laying the ground for a comparatively strong second half performance.

“The first half year is expected to end better than anticipated considering the distortionary effect of the changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax for second homes which took place in March 2016, and we have confidence in the full year outcome for the Group. The government consultation on its proposed ban on tenant fees has begun although our exposure is expected to be less significant than other lettings only based participants given our strong sales profile. The period of anticipation for a General Election is shorter than is usual so therefore so is the expected level of associated uncertainty.

“Finally I am delighted to announce our Customer Service Rating this year is for the third year running achieving 96% across both sales and lettings and we retain a healthy pipeline of parties looking to join the network.

“I look forward to updating you further as the year progresses.”

Source of information Hunters.com

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Commonhold White Paper – Thoughts from the Industry

The sale of new leasehold flats in England and Wales is to be banned under Labour’s plan to end the  ‘feudal’ system. Labour wants to switch to Scotland’s commonhold system There are around 5 million leaseholders in England and Wales. Under commonhold, each flat owner would own the freehold of their home, but also have…
Read More
Breaking News

Greenpeace Ruling Exposes UK Government Policy

In January 2025, Greenpeace brought a collective action against the Dutch state for failing to comply with a 2018 European Court of Justice ruling on nutrient neutrality. An appeal is expected: however, as the UK Government has adopted the same ‘tax builders for pollution others cause’ approach to reducing nutrient pollution, it may find itself…
Read More
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Rightmove commentary on mortgage market + weekly tracker

Commenting on the mortgage market, Rightmove’s expert Matt Smith said: “The market has settled after the unexpectedly high inflation figure. Average mortgage rates on many products have trickled downwards, and we’ve even seen the return of some eye-grabbing sub-4% mortgage rates for those with the biggest deposits. It shows that mortgage lenders are still keen to…
Read More
Breaking News

Government plans to ban new leasehold flats

With the Government’s plans to ban new leasehold flats, an expert says the system must be ready to cope. With the news that Government is to outline plans to ban new leasehold flats and adopt commonhold, with draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill to be published later this year, Scott Goldstein, Partner, Payne Hicks Beach,…
Read More
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England Money and Credit Report – January 2025

Overview These monthly statistics on the amount of, and interest rates on, borrowing and deposits by households and businesses are used by the Bank’s policy committees to understand economic trends and developments in the UK banking system. Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals rose by £0.9 billion, to £4.2 billion in January.…
Read More
Breaking News

Right to Manage: changes to legislation come into effect on Monday

On Monday 3 March further provisions within the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 come into force, including Section 49 which concerns the change of non-residential limit on Right to Manage (RTM) claims. This secondary legislation will mean that residential leaseholders within a mixed-use scheme will qualify for RTM when the commercial element of a…
Read More