BLV.L Regulatory News (BLV)

This announcement contains inside information. 

BELVOIR! BELVOIR GROUP PLC

(the "Group", or "Belvoir")

AGM Trading Update

Ahead of Expectations

Belvoir Group PLC (AIM:BLV), a leading UK property franchise group, provides the following update on current trading ahead of the Group's Annual General Meeting to be held at 10:00 a.m. today.

The Board is pleased to report that trading during the four months to 30 April 2021 was exceptionally strong and materially ahead of management's expectations, with substantial revenue growth across all three markets.

Management Service Fees ("MSF"), the Group's key underlying income stream from its property franchise division, is up 22% on 2020, with MSF from lettings up 12% and MSF from sales up 81%. Both reflect the very active residential property sector which has been fueled by both pent-up demand following the Coronavirus lockdowns and the Stamp Duty holiday which has now been extended to September 2021.

Additionally, the financial services division continues to achieve substantial growth with net income up 24% in part arising from an increase in Belvoir's adviser network, up 12 since the year end to 214, and in part from the high demand for mortgages resulting from the increase in property transactions.

Our entrepreneurial franchisees and advisers are very focused on maximising the opportunities from such a buoyant property market. The level of activity is expected to remain strong until at least the end of June, at which point the benefit of the Stamp Duty holiday is reduced by 50%, and probably through to the end of September when the Stamp Duty holiday ceases. In such unusual times, it is difficult to predict what might happen thereafter, but it is quite possible that the pent-up demand will not all be met in that timescale, and the tapered approach to the tax break will avoid a cliff-edge, such that the property market remains busy for most of the year.

Consequently, the Board confirms that the Group is trading significantly ahead of mnagement's expectations for the year ending December 2021.

Dorian Gonsalves, CEO of Belvoir Group, commented:

"We have not seen activity in the residential property market at this level since early 2007. Even after a busy start to the year for completions, pipelines of agreed house sales are still almost double those of this time last year.

"Our investment in financial services has achieved more than we had hoped, with this division now becoming an important additional strand in our growth strategy. With much of our financial services business drawn from outside of our property franchise network, which currently only accounts for around 7% of our mortgage business, there is scope for much further growth both from within our franchise networks and from developing third party lead sources.

"The Group continues to identify earnings accretive acquisition opportunities as evidenced by our recent acquisition of the Nicholas Humphreys franchise network which added a further 21 offices to our property division. Meanwhile, our financial adviser network now stands at 214 and we are confident of achieving our target of 250 by the end of 2021."

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About Belvoir Group PLC

Founded in 1995 and listed on AIM in 2012 (BLV.L), Belvoir operates a nationwide property franchise group with 439 offices across six brands specialising in residential lettings, property management, residential sales and property-related financial services. With its Central Office in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the Group manages over 71,500 properties and reported record revenues of £21.7m in 2020 marking Belvoir's 24th year of unbroken profit growth.

For further information, please visit: www.belvoirgroup.com