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Countrywide keeps LSH

Countrywide posted an income fall of 10% and a profit fall of 26% in the first six months of 2017 and also confirmed Lambert Smith Hampton will remain part of the group.

It said that following a strategic review, LSH would remain a part of the business, and that it believed there were further opportunities to develop the business.

LSH was put up for sale at the end of 2016, after being bought from Sankaty in 2013 in a pre-pack administration deal.

In a stock market statement, the estate agency said income was down from £370.3m in H1 2016 to £333m in H1 2017, while profits before tax declined from £37.9m to £28.1m. The number of home sales was down from 25,573 in H1 2016 to 20,693 in H1 this year.

 

The group said that its lettings business continued to be resilient, and that it was continuing to expand its mortgage market and surveying businesses, and improve its digital capability.

Alison Platt, chief executive, said: “As anticipated, the first half of 2017 was tough for the group compared with the same period last year, given the high levels of housing transactions brought forward in time as a result of the stamp duty changes and the EU referendum.

“We are building a stronger business for our future and remain on track with our goals to broaden our digital capability, reduce our operating cost base and strengthen our balance sheet.

“Based on our current performance and the outlook for housing transactions in the UK, we expect our results and our leverage for the full year to be within the range of market expectations.”

To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette

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