At least eight new offices to open in 2022, pledges franchise network

Franchise giant Winkworth says at least eight new offices will open next year, following an upbeat performance in 2021.

In a trading statement the agency says conditions have remained strong since the upturn in the first half of the year, with London sales and rentals - which account for some 75 per cent of Winkworth’s revenues - being buoyant.

However, new sales instructions and sales agreed in Q3 2021 were lower than those achieved in Q3 2020, which saw a surge of interest post lockdown and the start of the stamp duty holiday. But the Q3 2021 sales data showed an improvement on the same period of 2019.

The agency has recently seen expansion with a third branch in Norfolk while its Exeter and Bournemouth franchises have opened second offices in Tiverton and Ferndown respectively. 

The trading statement continues: “We expect our local networks to continue to grow, led by talented, proven and ambitious franchisees whose expansion we are supporting. We have a healthy pipeline of at a least eight new offices due to come on board over the next 12 months.”

As a result of this buoyant level of activity during the current year, Winkworth's full year revenues are expected to exceed earlier forecasts with full year profits “materially higher than expectations.” 

For 2022, with a return to more normal conditions in sales and an improved rental market in London, the agency anticipates continued underlying growth.

Chief executive Dominic Agace says: "We expect business to remain brisk going into 2022, with rental prices rising due to migration back to London and international interest returning. We anticipate that sales will re-base to the levels seen before the stamp duty holiday but remain above the five-year average, as cheap funding and the momentum created by the stamp duty holiday are underpinned by high employment and affordable finance."