LSL has reopened 207 of its 231 estate agency branches, with 50% of its furloughed employees from the branches returning to work.
In its surveying division, 60% of furloughed employees have now started back at work, LSL said in an update.
By the end of April LSL had furloughed 73% of employees, of which 41% are now back at work.
In the three weeks since the easing of lockdown restrictions began, LSL’s average weekly residential sales exchange income has recovered to 34% of its pre-lockdown level, while tenant registrations are back to where they were before the pandemic.
The business has also resumed physical property valuations, with more than 2,000 valuations carried out in the first three weeks and a further 1,000 bookings taken. The daily average volume is up to 60% of the pre-lockdown level.
LSL also reported that during April its revenue declined by 56%. However, it managed to generate an underlying operating profit of £1.6m for the month, with its less affected financial services division contributing £900,000.
LSL’s board and executive committee have also agreed to reduce their salaries and fees by up to one third.
The lockdown resulted in LSL’s estate agency branches’ residential sales exchange income per week plummeting by 63%, while new lettings and renewals fell by 24%. Weekly surveying valuations decreased by 80%.
The business recorded a 62% increase in underlying operating profit to £3.4m for the first quarter of 2020, compared with Q1 2019.
The firm has a £100m revolving credit facility in place, which is committed to May 2022, and at the end of April it had net bank debt of £28.4m.
David Stewart, group chief executive of LSL, said: “Looking ahead, it is impossible to plot the future course of the virus or its impact on the economy or the housing market. We remain alert to the risk of more disruption and will again take decisive action should it occur. Nevertheless, our performance so far in 2020 also illustrates the underlying strength of our business, and the potential it has. I continue to believe LSL has an exciting long-term future.”
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