Lsl Property Services Share Discussion Threads

[m.t.glass] 23/5/2008 07:16

LSL statement today includes -

..The Surveying division continues to perform strongly and above our expectations..
..However, as has been widely reported, conditions in the housing market during the second quarter have deteriorated further and the current levels of housing transaction volumes are at an unprecedented low level. Trading in
our Estate Agency division has been affected in line with the market and, as a result, we are now planning for a significantly weaker performance for the division in the current year...
...The Group has not factored in any upturn in the market for the remainder of 2008...

(posted in full below)

[pictureframe] 22/5/2008 11:23

The only thing keeping this company going is the surveying side, but check out the latest news from RICs they are predicting the worst housing market since records began. IMHO its only a matter of time before they warn

[m.t.glass] 22/5/2008 08:17

Industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing are predicting that as many as one in seven estate agency companies could disappear completely if the current trend continues or deepens, but Mr Hill, chairman of the UK's biggest estate agency chain with more than 1,000 offices, predicts an even worse outcome if the current conditions continue."The market is in shreds - we reckoned that in March this year, 315 estate agency offices closed," said Mr Hill. "If that trend continues, then one third of the country's 14,000 offices could close."

[m.t.glass] 21/5/2008 11:13

'ere we go again

[theoriginalface] 19/5/2008 11:59

this is quite a good article on estate agents and the current market etc.

[theoriginalface] 19/5/2008 11:27

Not seen anything official, although having read that article I was expecting an announcement first thing. There has to be a profit warning soon imo.

[m.t.glass] 19/5/2008 11:18

Price dropped just before 10am, triggering a bunch of trades. Presumably we can expect a few more if/when the company officially says something. Surely they can't get away with speaking unofficially to the media like this article indicates they have. I know it's only 3-4 weeks since they put out a a trading update - but that was in respect of activities to end of March, since when 7 weeks have passed and many peers have indicated rapidly deteriorating circumstances.

Closure of the Reed Rains branches is sure to be reported locally on radio/tv and in local papers. Not everyone will twig that Reed Rains is part of LSL.


Incidentally. dropping through 96p means their market capitalisation falls beneath £100m -- which is a key threshold for some fund managers who won't hold stocks smaller than that.


PS: I don't know why our thread host opted for this boxed-in style of messag presentation - personally I find it claustrophobic ;o/

[m.t.glass] 19/5/2008 11:08

That article dated yesterday - so by "tomorrow" they mean today. I haven't seen it officially announced by LSL anywhere yet, have you?

[theoriginalface] 19/5/2008 11:05

mtg - lol, looks that way huh?!

pressure building on lsl now, estate agency side must really be struggling now.

[m.t.glass] 19/5/2008 11:01

Thanks t/o/f
(think you meant support gone, not resistance?)


"..Reeds Rains, part of property group LSL that also owns the Your Move estate agency network, will confirm tomorrow that at least 15 of its 127 branches will be axed in the North-East and North-West.
Branches in Bradford and Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, and Lancaster and Wigan in Lancashire are among those that will be shut. In Cheshire, High Street sites in Cheadle, Knutsford and Poynton will be closed and consolidated into one branch in Wilmslow... ..."..None of Reeds Rains' executives was available for comment on Friday, but a spokeswoman confirmed that the company is currently consulting all employees affected by the changes. The closures will bring the number of branches shut this year by LSL past 45. Most so far have been concentrated on the Your Move network..."

[theoriginalface] 19/5/2008 10:21

see down again this am - gone through the £1 resistance very easily this time around.

[m.t.glass] 16/5/2008 07:50

Humberts estate agencies going under? Shows just how tough things are out there.

"..Further to the announcement of the Result of General Meeting on 14 May 2008, Humberts Group plc requests the suspension of its ordinary shares pending clarification of its financial condition. The Company is also investigating a potential restructuring. A further announcement will be made as soon as practicable..."

[theoriginalface] 15/5/2008 11:08

At year end they had £111m of intangible assets. Their net assets were £42.9m. Not a great place to be when your intangibles are worth 21/2 times your net asset value really.

[pictureframe] 15/5/2008 10:25

Just looking at the balance sheet most of it is goodwill, they are it shed loads of debt-they are ok for the moment whilst making profit BUT as I suspect this will reduce significantly with next update how are they going to service the debt? Not short yet but the more I look into this company the more it looks a goer

[pictureframe] 15/5/2008 09:55

This will warn without a doubt, a short candidate for sure

[m.t.glass] 15/5/2008 09:49

Dropped convincingly through that 100 floor now..

[m.t.glass] 08/5/2008 18:13

Reference to one of LSL's agencies within this report

[pictureframe] 07/5/2008 11:49

1) Estates agents are closing in their droves
2) There is hardly any work compiling HIPs packs there is to much competition.
There are over 10000 domestic energry assessors when only 3500 are required !

[m.t.glass] 07/5/2008 11:45

...The slump is the worst for 15 years in the unofficial capital of Yorkshire, where LSL Property Services closed one of its 12 branches in January, putting 315 staff nationwide out of work. MacLean is certain that national forecasts of a third of estate agents following suit are going to be reflected in Leeds. "We talk in this business about 20-year cycles - 15 making hay and five grim," he says. "We're into grim year two."

[m.t.glass] 24/4/2008 12:03

Quite. Dreadful statement this morning from Britain's biggest housebuilder. And estate agents are closing branches all over the place. The market on which LSL is so dependent is tumbling.

[theoriginalface] 24/4/2008 11:49

ahh yes there we go, are we headed for sub £1 this time?? conditions out there do indeed seem to be worsening.....

[theoriginalface] 23/4/2008 14:56

mtg - i imagine its relief that they're not as bad as they could be. plenty of scope for things to get worse in the current environment though, can see things getting much worse out there before they get better imo.

[m.t.glass] 23/4/2008 14:53

Nothing in today's statement to justify a rising share price, imo.

[m.t.glass] 23/4/2008 07:16

In the first quarter ended 31 March 2008.

* Group turnover for the period was down by 3%
* Surveying turnover was up by 15%
* Estate Agency and Financial Services turnover was down by 16%



...Trading in our Estate Agency division has been slightly below management
expectations... ..This division has been affected by the slowdown in the housing market... ..we expect market conditions to remain challenging for our Estate Agency division, with the outturn for the housing market in 2008 extremely difficult to predict...

[aughton 3] 22/4/2008 14:00

SHOCKING CHART