SPECIAL BRANCH
Estate agents bucking the trend as group continues to open at new sites
ESTATE AGENTS Hunters said it had delivered strong results in 2017, despite facing a subdued market.
Last year, Hunters opened 37 new branches as it continued to outperform the market.
Revenue increased by 3 per cent to £14.2m and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) rose by 8 per cent to £2.23m. At the end of 2017, Hunters had 213 branches.
In a statement, Hunters said: “Organically, we believe we are the fastest growing listed business in our sector, having opened 114 branches over the last four years and a further 46 branches through acquisition in that period.”
Kevin Hollinrake, the company’s chairman, said: “This performance highlights the robustness of our model and the quality and commitment of our franchisees and their teams across the network.
“We would expect this current market, and recently announced additional regulatory requirements, to provide us with even more opportunities to expand our branch network and strengthen our market position still further.
He added: “A strong national brand, free best-in-class training and significant cost reductions for network members make the case for independent operators to join the Hunters family even more compelling. We are already experiencing strong levels of enquiries from high quality independent businesses.
“We remain in line with the market’s expectation and I look forward to updating you as the year progresses.”
Mr Hollinrake, who is also the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, co-founded Hunters.
Under his leadership, the Yorkbased business has grown into a major player in the estate agency sector.