Savills trading in line amid good European and Japanese trading

18th Nov 2014 08:00

Upmarket estate agent Savills reported good trading since July with improvements in Europe, Japan and other Asia Pacific markets making up for a continued fall in commercial trading volumes in Hong Kong.Savills said commercial property investment markets in Hong Kong had stayed very subdued, but leasing and tenant representation volumes had remained relatively stable.However, elsewhere in Asia Pacific, the Japanese and Australia markets had been robust, with Savills' businesses in both markets showing substantial period-on-period revenue growth and increased market share.In the UK, commercial and residential growth outside London largely balanced the impact of the expected moderating of the London housing market ahead of next year's general election.In mainland Europe, the group increased transaction revenues year-on-year, particularly in Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. In Germany and France, core investors were active, whilst there were strong levels of demand from international private equity investors in southern Europe, the Netherlands and Ireland.Savills said in a trading update: "Overall, we have had a robust period of trading and have benefited from the diversity of our service lines and regional locations, and our acquisition of Studley in the US. "Looking ahead, whilst we retain our cautious stance on the timing of recovery in Hong Kong and, as previously indicated, we expect the UK residential markets to remain somewhat subdued during the extended pre-election period, the strength of our enhanced US operations, our regional UK business and improvements in Europe and Japan, lead us to anticipate that our underlying result for the year will at least meet our previous expectations."Shares rose 7.5p to 646p at 08:26 in London.