(Sharecast News) - British property franchisor Property Franchise Group said on Wednesday that the group as a whole had "performed very well" in 2020 despite it being "a volatile year" for the estate and lettings agency industry.
The group said both TPFG and Hunters put in a solid performance despite the circumstances, demonstrating the strength and resilience of its franchise model and the quality of the unit's respective management teams, with both companies having "a keen focus" on cost management over the year, which together with stable revenues led to a positive impact on profitability.

At TPFG, Network income inched forward from £93.0m to £94.0m, while overall revenues ticked up £100,000 to £11.5m. Management service fees slipped from £9.7m to £9.4m.

Although the figures related to the year ended 31 December, prior to TPFG's acquisition of the business, the AIM-listed firm highlighted that over at Hunters, network income increased from £42.0m to £43.0m and management services fees increased £200,000 to £3.4m. Adjusted revenues, on the other hand, fell 4% to £12.5m.

In terms of current trading and outlook, TPFG said with the strong pipeline and momentum generated late 2020 continuing into the current year, both units came into 2021 with sales agreed pipelines in their networks up more than 80% year-on-year, with the group also noting that sales agreed pipelines had started to convert into completions at faster rates.

TPFG said: "Whilst the outlook for the UK economy remains difficult to predict, we are confident that an exciting year of progress is ahead of the group. Aside from external market conditions, in the year ahead TPFG looks forward to pursuing the new opportunities available to it following the Hunters acquisition, leveraging its significantly enhanced scale and continuing to execute on its ambitious growth strategy."

As of 0855 GMT, Property Franchise shares were up 4.85% at 238.0p.