The network’s trading update showed that the number of mortgages arranged by its member advisers has increased on Q3 2014’s figures and has already surpassed the figured recorded in 2014 by 4%. So far in 2015, Countrywide’s network has completed 53,730 transactions.
However, CEO Alison Platt announced that the group’s earnings for the year before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation [EBITDA] has fallen 11% below last year. She added that while the group expected modest year-on-year recovery in Q4, EBITDA for the full year was likely to be less than the £121.1m achieved in 2014 – the most profitable year in Countrywide’s history.
Despite growth in the group’s advice arm, its estate agency has recorded a dip in sales, with the total number of house exchanges falling by 8% on the same quarter last year. This fall is mainly driven by plummeting sales in its core estate agency business where sales shrunk by 11%, compared with its London and Premier business which has seen business jump by 20%.
Its residential lettings business increased by 5% in the third quarter, with 69,855 lettings properties under management so far in 2015, already a 7% rise on figures recorded in 2014.
Countrywide attributed part of the estate agency’s lack of growth to the availability of stock, with the number of properties coming to the market running significantly below the same period last year.
It added that changes in Stamp Duty had damaged movement at the upper end of the market. As a result, Countrywide said volumes for the year will be at least 5% below that recorded in 2014.
Alison Platt, CEO, said: “While we are undoubtedly experiencing a period of short-term pressure on market volumes, we continue to invest in our underlying business to ensure we have the foundation for future growth. The benefits of this strategy are evident in the current performance from both our surveying and financial services businesses where previous investments in resource capacity have produced results which are currently well ahead of their respective markets.”
She added that the UK’s economic backdrop combined with improving consumer confidence pointed to ‘modest transaction growth’ in 2016.
“With a strong residential lettings sector now forming a permanent part of the housing market, and with more customers than ever choosing to arrange mortgages through intermediaries, the outlook for 2016 is a positive one for Countrywide,” said Platt. “While there is much to do to drive that both organically and through acquisition, I’m confident that the start we have made will yield positive results in the near future.”
