Resurgence in British office market fuels record profits at Knight Frank
LONDON’S booming office market combined with a recovery in the regions helped estate agent Knight Frank to post record full-year results.
The company, which is owned by its partners and has 370 offices across the world, said profit before tax rose by 19 per cent to £162m in the year to 31 March, while turnover increased by 13 per cent to £443.1m.
Group chairman Alistair Elliott said the partnership’s 10 commercial offices across the UK “had their best year ever”, thanks to the improving economy and companies searching for new offices to house their expanding workforces.
However, Elliott warned that its performance in the residential market had been mixed after changes to stamp duty rules weighed on demand for £1.5m-plus homes.
“We have had five or six incredible buoyant years. It’s not surprising therefore that the market has been a bit more constrained. It has led many to reflect and there is going to be lower volumes this year in the higher price brackets,” he said.
HMRC said last week it collected a record £7.5bn in stamp duty last year.