The parent firm of estate agent brands Martin and Co, Hunters and CJ Hole has seen its profits jump amid rising rental inflation.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG), which describes itself as the largest operator of its kind in the UK property market, reported a pre-tax profit of £8.8m for 2022 - up by more than third on the £6.4m recorded in its previous financial year.
The Bournemouth-headquartered company also saw total revenue generated by its nine businesses increase by 13% to £27.2m, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) also grew, up 14% to £11.8m.
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Bosses at the AIM-listed firm said last year had seen it add another 2,000 tenanted properties to its managed portfolio across the UK, taking the total to 76,000, adding the company had benefited from “the full impact” of its acquisition of Hunters in 2021. .
The board said total lettings revenues represented almost half of its revenue, and accounted for 55% of management service fees during the period - up 8% to £15.9m. It added that “a lack of stock, unprecedented demand, and rising mortgage costs” had driven up rental inflation in 2022, and it expected this to continue this year.
Chairman Paul Latham added that the year had been “operationally challenging” for its sales reliant businesses, as the housing market was affected by wider economic downturn and rising interest rates, with mortgage deals becoming “more expensive and stuttered” amid the political uncertainty towards the end of 2022.
TPFG said it had ended 2022 with an agreed sales pipeline of £22.2m, which was down from £26.5m in 2021.
Chief executive Gareth Samples said: "We have delivered another strong set of record results in 2022. Particularly pleasing given the economic backdrop and contraction in residential sales transactions.
“In two years, we have grown group revenue almost 2.5 times, maintained recurring revenues at half of group revenue, doubled adjusted profit before tax and grown adjusted fully diluted earnings per share by two-thirds. We have also put ourselves back in a net cash position within eighteen months of our largest acquisition to date, Hunters, giving us a strong platform for future growth.”
The board recommended a final dividend of 8.8p - bringing the total dividend to 13p for the financial year.
TPFG consists of more than 500 franchise owners across more than 430 high street locations and another 120 hybrid agents. Its other brands include EweMove, Ellis & Co, Parkers, Whitegates, Mullucks & Country Properties.
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