Trophy deals help fuel profits at Knight Frank
SECURING trophy buildings for cash-rich investors helped Knight Frank deliver record sales and profits last year, the property agency said today.
The firm, which is owned by its partners and operates 335 offices in 52 countries, saw profits jumped by 33 per cent in the year to £136.6m in the year to 31 March compared with £102.7m the previous year.
Sales rose by 12 per cent to £392.7m and it has net cash balances of £141.7m, up from £105.1m in 2012.
Knight Frank’s group chairman and senior partner, Alistair Elliott, said it benefitted from acting on several high profile property deals abroad and in the UK.
The firm bought the Canadian High Commission at 1 Grosvenor Square on behalf of India’s Lodha Group for £300m. It also sold an office block on Old Broad Street in the City to China Construction Bank on behalf of KBC Bank for £111m.
“Through a mixture of organic growth and trophy deals we have gone from strength to strength, enhancing our international footprint and client base,” Elliott said.
Knight Frank is to open seven new offices in London and the south east in the next six months as it looks to tap into continued pent-up demand for housing in the capital.
It is also going on a recruitment drive and aims to step up its expansion abroad, with a focus on the Nordics, Germany and China.