Upbeat estate agent sees no pain from Brexit vote

WINKWORTH was the latest name from the property sector to reassure shareholders that it is business as usual post-Brexit.

It was upbeat despite several other names in the sector having a bad day. British Land finished 2.7pc, or 17.5p, lower at 628.5p while Intu Properties dropped 2.1pc, or 6.2p, to 289.2p.

The FTSE 100 was down again by 0.5pc, or 35.27 points, to 6665.63.

But estate agency franchisor Winkworth reported revenue of £2.75m in the first six months of the year, up 6.7pc on the same period a year ago. Pre-tax profit climbed 8.8pc to £721,711, with some 40pc of revenue now coming from lettings. Winkworth expects this to grow towards 50pc. The firm said it grew its average fee per property sold by 2pc across the country, and by 7pc in London.

Winkworth opened five franchises in the first half of the year; it now has more than 95 offices.

There were fewer sales after the referendum vote in June and July but the key drivers for property, of low interest rates and low unemployment, still stand. Chief execu- tive Dominic Agace said that although uncertainty remains, sales are expected to pick up. Shares climbed 7.1pc, or 7.5p, to 113.5p.

Attraqt makes software which helps you search for products on websites more effectively and technology which allows the site to make suggestions based on your previous searches. As brands continue to invest in their websites, Attraqt’s revenue has grown – up 25pc to £1.7m in the first half of the year alone.

The business signed up 18 clients in the six months to June 30, including LK Bennett, The North Face and trainer brand Vans. It has also renewed a contract with online fashion retailer Boohoo for two years. The firm reported a pre-tax loss of £860,000 in the period but Attraqt said this had been expected because of its increased investment in the US market. Shares surged 15.9pc, or 6.5p, to 47.5p.

Alliance Pharma climbed as it announced it had signed a licensing and distribution agreement for Diclectin, which treats nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. In January last year it acquired the UK rights to the drug, which has been used in Canada for more than 30 years, and the latest deal allows Alliance to launch the product in a further nine EU countries including Germany, France and Italy.

Alliance said that around 70pc of the 2.5m pregnancies in these countries each year will see women suffer with nausea and vomiting, making it a big opportunity for the firm. Diclectin was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2013. Shares gained 3pc, or 1.5p, to 51p.

Manx Telecom reported that it had returned to growth, but that wasn’t enough to put shares in positive territory for the day.

The firm provides landline, broadband and data centre service to around 4,000 businesses and 37,000 homes. Manx said revenues were £39.2m in the first half of the year, down from £39.8m in the same period a year ago. Underlying pretax profit was up just £100,000 to £8.3m. Revenues from its data centre business dragged on results, down 15.7pc in the period.

But Manx said that with the growing use of 4G mobile data and increased demand for superfast broadband, it had performed in line with expectations and will increase its interim dividend 0.2p to 3.7p a share. Shares slipped 1pc, or 2p, to 200p.

A number of payment technology firms seem to be making waves at the moment. The growth of contactless payments makes having the best and most secure products paramount to providers.

SafeCharge is trying to tap into that trend.

But yesterday its shares slipped as the AIM-listed business warned that the second half of the year is likely to be weaker than the first.

Revenues were £39.5m in the first half while earnings were £12.7m. But the downbeat update saw shares stumble 6.1pc, or 16p, to 246.5p.