LONDON (Alliance News) - London-focused estate agency M Winkworth PLC Wednesday said there are "clear signs" that is its gaining market share, as it reported an increase in profit and revenue for the first half.
The company posted pretax profit of GBP803,785 for the six months ended June 30, up from GBP594,633 a year earlier, as revenue rose 20% to 2.5 million from GBP2.1 million.
Winkworth said the momentum in residential sales, which grew consistently throughout the course of 2013, was sustained in the first half of this year with gross mortgage lending rising by up to 43% month-on-month compared to a more-subdued first half in 2013.
This was further fuelled by sharp price increases as the pent-up demand of recent years led to buyers competing for a limited supply of available properties, the estate agent said.
In the first half of 2014, Winkworth's franchisees increased sales transactions by 28%, with a particularly strong showing in the markets outside London where transactions were 43% higher.
Winkworth said the gross property revenues of its franchisees grew by 23% to GBP23.5 million, from GBP19.1 million within which rental income rose by 11%.
Looking ahead, the company said while the London property market has undergone a change since the "extreme levels" witnessed in the early part of the year, it expects prices to remain on a sustainable long-term uptrend, slowing from the 15% annualised rate witnessed this year to around 5% in 2015.
"We are delighted to report a very strong set of numbers for the first half of 2014 as a result of continuing momentum in the residential sales market and further improvements in our rentals business," Chief Executive Dominic Agace said in a statement.
"There are clear signs that Winkworth is gaining market share as we further improve customer service and expand in new markets within the London commuter zone," he added.
On the back of its performance the company increased its interim dividend to 2.9 pence from 2.6 pence.
By Anthony Tshibangu; anthonytshibangu@alliancenews.com; @AnthonyAllNews
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M Winkworth (WINK)