Savills plc
Report and Accounts 2007
Financial Services
Financial Services
The Financial Services division – Savills Private Finance Limited – is an independent adviser for residential and commercial mortgages. It is a market leader at the top end of the residential mortgage broking market sourcing loans from a wide range of banks for new purchases, remortgages and investment acquisitions. SPF also provides insurance broking services and financial planning advice to larger clients.
Performance in 2007
We increased revenue by 11% in 2007 to £29.8m (2006: £26.9m) benefiting from the strong mortgage market. Underlying profit before tax increased by 16% to £5.1m (2006: £4.4m), margins improved from 16% to 17%. This is a strong result given the tightening of liquidity in the UK market and the significant investment in improving systems and additional regulatory costs. Currently, around two-thirds of our income comes within the M25; however, we continue to expand the traditional residential mortgage broking business geographically and now operate from 24 locations including new offices in Cardiff, Jersey and Windsor.
The Commercial and Agricultural Debt Broking business performed strongly in more difficult market conditions, where the need for independent advice has becomemore important.
Key achievements of 2007
During the year we re-launched the relationship with the Residential Agency business, setting benchmarks for all offices to drive a greater flow of mortgage referrals.
Future plans
The outstanding quality of our people and our continuing investment in developing our infrastructure will serve us well in a market where borrowers will increasingly need the advice from professional mortgage brokers. We are planning to open new offices in Newcastle, Liverpool and Exeter and are also putting extra effort into our customer contact programme to ensure we retain existing clients and continue to deliver the high level of service they expect.