Shares in Countrywide (CWD) fell over 16 per cent after the beleaguered estate agent warned that total income from sales and lettings for the year to December 2017 would be down by around 14 per cent, following a disappointing fourth quarter.
The news was followed by the resignation of Alison Platt as chief executive, while existing chairman Peter Long has agreed to become executive chairman. Mr Long pointed to the strong business-to-business (B2B) operation, but conceded that the group has lost focus in the core sales and lettings business. Further details of group strategy will accompany the release of the group’s preliminary results on 8 March.
A squeeze on transactional volumes in the existing home market continued to exert pressure but, more worryingly, lettings income is expected to be around 4 per cent lower, although on a brighter note, lettings revenue in London was flat on the year. Even so, cash profits from sales and lettings is expected to be down by 45 per cent at £26m.
Elsewhere, the B2B surveying service including Lambert Smith Hampton delivered strong growth of around 14 per cent, boosting revenue to £36m. Financial services, including buy-to-let business, mortgage bureau and mortgage intelligence channels were hit by lower volume, with cash profits expected to fall from £22.6m to £20m.
