5 August 2019 – trading update
A trading update has been issued ahead of interim results, which are due out on 3 September. Trading during the first half of 2019 was strong with revenue and operating profit comfortably ahead of the same period in 2018, both on an underlying basis and including the impact of the November 2018 acquisition of financial services network, MAB (Gloucester). The 300 high street lettings and estate agency offices achieved a 5% increase in Management Service Fees. This is the key recurring revenue stream. There was growth across both sales and lettings despite falling sales activity in the market as a whole and the introduction of a ban on tenant fees in June 2019. Net banked commission by Brook Financial Services Limited was up 23% on a like-for-like basis versus the same period in 2018. The company is confident of meeting market expectations for the full year. We believe that the shares offer very good value and keep our BUY rating.