Savills PLC (LON:SVS) said that its UK residential arm was one of the stand-out performers last year as housing demand bounced back in the second half of 2020.
The estate agent and property adviser said UK Residential grew revenues by 10% as the market recovered strongly from mid-year, but this was offset by a 19% decline in advisory fees as the pandemic significantly reduced the volume of transactions worldwide.
Revenues in the year to end-December, 2020 overall fell by 9% to £1.74bn while pre-tax profits were 28% lower at £83.2mln.
Savills added it expects transactional activity to remain broadly suppressed in the first half of 2021 with an improvement in some individual markets thereafter and the potential for progressive recovery through the balance of the year.
Mark Ridley, chief executive, said "We remain confident in the long term attraction of real estate as an asset class and although macro-economic uncertainty resulting from COVID-19 clearly remains, we see enhanced investor demand for income and improvements in leasing activity as occupiers increasingly seek to address their requirements."
There was a final dividend of 17p, while Savills closed the year with a net cash position of £177mln.