Business
Trading Update and Dividend Declaration
M Winkworth Plc expects its audited final results for the year ended 31 December 2025 to be announced around 15 April 2026, with adjusted pre-tax profits anticipated at approximately £2.1m, a 20% decrease from FY24 and below market expectations, while net cash is projected to be at least £3.9m. Despite a softening market in the second half of 2025, network revenues for the full year increased by approximately 6%, with sales up 9% and lettings up 2%, reflecting resilience. The company is declaring an ordinary dividend of 3.3p per share for the fourth quarter, bringing the total FY25 ordinary dividend to 13.2p per share, a 7.3% increase from FY24. Encouraging early enquiry levels in January 2026 and anticipated easing mortgage rates suggest a positive outlook for 2026. Disclaimer*
About this update from M Winkworth Plc
14 January 2026 M Winkworth plc Trading Update Dividend Declaration and Notice of Results M Winkworth plc ("Winkworth" or the "Company"), the leading London franchisor of real estate agencies, announces the following trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2025 ("FY25"). The Company expects to announce its audited final results for FY25 on, or around, 15 April 2026. Trading Update Following a strong performance in sales during the first half of FY25, and continued growth in lettings, trading conditions softened more than expected in the second half of FY25. This reflected a broader slowdown in market activity ahead of the Autumn Budget, when a number of transactions were deferred. As a result, Company revenues in H2 FY25 were broadly in line with the comparative period of H2 FY24. For FY25 as a whole, network revenues increased by approximately 6% compared with the financial year ended 31 December 2024 ("FY24"), with sales revenues up 9% and lettings revenues 2% higher. This performance reflects the resilience of the Winkworth network and its exposure to established London and regional markets, and was broadly in line with the board's expectations. Certain costs were incurred during the year, including one-off administrative costs and a planned increase in marketing spend in prime central London, most of which were highlighted at the time of the H1 FY25 results, when pre-tax profits fell by 19% on H1 FY24. These were largely one-off costs that are not expected to recur in future periods. As a result of the above and the factors detailed below, Winkworth's FY25 adjusted pre-tax profits, subject to audit, are expected to be, approximately £2.1m (FY24: £2.35m), 20% below current market expectations, with net cash at year end to be at least £3.9m (FY24: £4.1m). Notwithstanding that activity levels were temporarily impacted ahead of the Autumn Budget, the measures ultimately announced did not materially alter the underlying supply and demand dynamics in the Company's markets. With mortgage rates expected to ease further during 2026, the Board has been encouraged by strong levels of enquiry reported across the network so far in January 2026 and anticipates that deferred transactions will progress as confidence improves. During the year, the Company continued to actively manage and strengthen its franchise portfolio. Th...