Strutt & Parker’s operating profit fell by 33.4% from £28.4m to £18.9m in the year to 30 April, its annual results reveal.
Turnover was £107.7m, compared with £111.3m the year before.
Senior partner Andy Martin said it was the first time he had reported a decline in year-on-year trading since he took over as senior partner in 2009. He attributed the fall to stamp duty rises and uncertainty caused by wider political and fiscal events.
He said the uncertainty had hit trading in all of the transactional markets.
Turnover slid from £37.6m to £31.6m in the London commercial business, and from £15m to £14.5m in London residential. Regional turnover increased slightly to £58.8m.
“The challenges we faced in 2015/16 have not dissipated as the UK economy faces continued uncertainty, despite the potential attractiveness of a significant fall in the value of sterling for foreign investors,” said Martin. “This has increased our desire for greater diversity by growing our exposure to more repeatable professional and management lines.”
Operating profit was also hit by acquisitions and expansion. During the year the firm acquired estate agents Roberts Newby and Edwards & Elliott and planning consultancy AKA Planning. It also created an alternative capital markets team and a London planning team.
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