Profits and revenues both rose last year at Savills as it out-performed the market – but the firm has warned that coronavirus is already having an effect.
In its preliminary results for the year to the end of December, group revenue was up 10% to £1.93bn and pre-tax profits up 6% to £115.6m.
UK profits rose by 7% to £81.9m, while Savills UK residential business grew revenues by 6%, out-performing the decline in UK market volumes.
Group chief executive Mark Ridley described it as “good performance” in challenging market conditions.
He said that the first two months of this year have been better than the same period last year, but warned of the possible consequences of coronavirus, saying that while it is difficult to predict accurately, Savills expects most of its activity in the second half of this year.
Savills, a global firm, said it expects a “temporary delay in activity rather than an absolute loss of business”.
It said that in Asia, particularly China, it is clear that coronavirus is having a “significant” impact on transactional activity.
It said that there could be a similar impact elsewhere, depending on the length and severity of each outbreak.
It said: “Our focus is on the welfare of our staff and clients and we have instituted protective measures in locations potentially affected by this virus.”
Savills also gave commentary on proptech in its results, suggesting that it is losing its shine.
It said: “Technology continues to be a focal area across the real estate industry.
“Over the last 12 months we have witnessed some of the excitement surrounding ‘proptech’ being replaced by a more pragmatic approach to assessing which new technologies and tools genuinely address industry challenges and help drive efficiencies.”
Savills will be paying a total dividend of 32p per share, up from 31.2p in 2018.
Its results do not mention Yopa, the online agent in which Savills has a stake.
Comments (5)
Don’t disagree with the above comments but….
It also helps being the ONLY ESTATE AGENT appointed by the government to carry out;
a) the valuations on HS2 effected property (along with 2 other survey companies)
b) the renting out of ALL those properties purchased by HS2 ltd
c) eventually THE ONLY agent tasked with selling those HS2 purchased properties in 10/15 years time ££££MMMMMM
As there are absolutely shed loads of these properties up and down the country, this is definitely a factor and will continue to be a factor in the years to come. Fair play to Savills but is this really right? The government giving all this business to just one agent in the entire country?
Quality act
Savills
What can you say -pure class
As Mr London says can afford to take a hit with Yopa without threatening their overall strength . Other expansion undertaken incrementally without borrowing expensive money to chase revenue
Perhaps because its lead from the front by a time served,qualified property expert not an an accountant or medical insurance officer
Savills is not perfect but you have to admire its strengths as a business.
Behind the posh smiles and long surnames they are commendably ruthless on performance and have an incredible breadth and depth of services.
They are trying to forget Yopa – they can’t get everything right and if you invest in prop tech start-ups some will fail – that is inevitable and nothing to be ashamed of.
Well played.
Shows it was still possible to make a decent living as an agent in a challenging Brexit marketplace.