COUNTRYWIDE, which owns Scottish estate agency Slater Hogg & Howison, has steered back into the black after the housing market returned to more usual trends over the last year.
The estate agency division, which employs more than 7000 people at branches including Bairstow Eves and Mann & Co, turned last year's half-year operating loss of GBP6.4m into profits of GBP19m in the first half.
Profits for the whole group, which also provides conveyancing, financial services and surveying work, were up to GBP62.8m from GBP3.5m a year earlier.
The improvement reflected one-off profits from asset sales, including GBP16.4m on the sale of part of the company's stake in property website Rightmove.
Speaking in his last results briefing as chairman of the property group he founded in 1986, Christopher Sporborg said Countrywide's Scottish business had delivered a "very good" first-half performance. He said the focus in Scotland was very much on expansion of the business.
Countrywide bought Slater Hogg & Howison from Bradford & Bingley in October 2004.
Asked how the unit had performed compared with the rest of the UK, he added: "I think very well, we acquired a very good Scottish agent (Slater Hogg & Howison)."
Harry Hill, managing director of Countrywide, echoed his chairman's sentiments, saying: "We've got the Rolls-Royce business in Scotland, which has the Rolls-Royce staff in Scotland."
He said the Glasgow property market was "probably slightly less racy" than the same period last year, but remained very strong. Hill said property prices had increased about 10-per cent year-on-year in the first half.
Countrywide expressed disappointed in the Bank of England's decision to raise interest rates earlier this month, but described the current market as sufficiently robust to absorb the increase.
Sporborg said it was likely that the housing market would continue to increase on a gentle upward trend. He added: "Whilst there are some signs the market is entering a seasonal lull, it shows no sign of extreme movement in either direction."
The turnaround for the estate agency division was aided by a 24-per cent increase in the number of house sale exchanges - at 48,126 from the company's 1182 owned and franchised branches.
The UK average house price was 6-per cent higher at GBP187,000.
The company's financial services division more than doubled profits to GBP9.9m, after a 35-per cent jump in the number of mortgages arranged and a 74-per cent lift in the number of life protection policies.
Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said: "Christopher Sporborg is certainly departing on a high note, with operating profits at the top end of forecasts and a substantial return of cash to shareholders." Countrywide is paying an interim dividend of 5p per share, compared with 1p in the same period last year. The shares eased 4.75p to 397p.
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