Belvoir Lettings PLC AGM Trading Update and Board Changes (1660Z)

TIDMBLV

RNS Number : 1660Z

Belvoir Lettings PLC

16 May 2019

 
   16 May 2019 
 

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

BELVOIR!

BELVOIR LETTINGS PLC

(the "Company" or "Belvoir")

AGM Trading Update

and

Board Changes

Belvoir Lettings PLC (AIM:BLV), the UK's largest property franchise, provides the following update in relation to current trading and changes to its Board ahead of the Group's Annual General Meeting to be held at 10:00 a.m. today.

Trading Update

The Board is delighted to report that trading during the first quarter of the current financial year has been robust. Belvoir is outperforming the three key markets in which it operates, namely residential lettings, property sales and financial services. Growth in Management Service Fees ("MSF") from lettings of 6.3% was noticeably ahead of the reported year-on-year rental index of 1.2%, growth of 10.3% from sales MSF compared with a drop of 1.5% in property transactions, and net banking from financial services (on a like-for-like basis) was up 20%.

Consequently, the Board is confident of meeting market expectations for the year ending December 2019.

Acquisition and diversification continue to be integral to the Group's growth strategy. In the year to date Belvoir's Assisted Acquisitions programme has supported six franchisees to acquire a local competitor adding GBP1.2m of network revenue, nearly 800 managed properties and over GBP0.1m p.a. of recurring MSF. There are still GBP2.0m of deals currently with lawyers and a strong pipeline of further opportunities to underpin the Group's growth target for 2019.

Our second financial services acquisition in November 2018 has provided diversification both for our franchisees and the Group, with revenue from financial services increasing almost threefold in the first quarter.

Board Changes

The Company also announces that after 24 years of service, Mike Goddard, Belvoir's founder and the non-executive Chairman is today retiring from the Board. Michael Stoop, who was appointed as a non-executive to the Board in March 2018 takes over the role of Chairman at the end of the AGM today.

Dorian Gonsalves, CEO, commented:

"The Board is very encouraged by trading in Q1 with our franchise model proving that, even in a challenging year for the property market, it has the resilience to overcome and indeed benefit from changes in the sector.

"Belvoir was founded by Mike in 1995 with his wife Stephanie, and I have had the pleasure of working alongside Mike since 2005. Through his entrepreneurial spirit and his passion for franchising, Belvoir has become the largest property franchise group in the UK. I would like to express my personal and the Board's sincere gratitude for all that Mike has done and achieved as founder, CEO and Chairman over the past 24 years.

"We welcome as Chairman, Michael Stoop, who has over 40 years' experience of the property franchise sector and has already made a significant contribution since joining the Board in March 2018."

The person responsible for arranging the release of this information is Louise George, Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

For further details:

 
Belvoir Lettings PLC                                              01476 584900 
 Dorian Gonsalves, Chief Executive Officer                         [e-mail] 
 Louise George, Chief Financial Officer 
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe 
 Rick Thompson, Phil Davies, Will Goode                           0207 894 7000 
 
Buchanan                                                          0207 466 5000 
 Charles Ryland, Victoria Hayns, Maddie Seacombe, Tilly Abraham    [e-mail] 
 

Note to Editors:

About Belvoir Lettings PLC

Founded in 1995 and listed on AIM in 2012 (BLV.L), Belvoir operates a nationwide property franchise group with 365 offices across four brands specialising in residential lettings, property management, residential sales and property-related financial services. With its Central Office in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the Group manages over 63,000 properties and reported record revenues of GBP13.7m in 2018 making Belvoir the largest property franchise group in the UK.

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May 16, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)