Savills (LSE:SVS) PLC said it continued to trade strongly in the second half of the year, especially in the UK and Asia Pacific.
The continued strength of UK prime residential markets has exceeded management’s expectations and the anticipated tapering of market volumes is now expected to take effect through 2022 rather than in the second half of this year.
Savills said the UK business is now likely to materially exceed both management’s earlier expectations for 2021 and the out-turn for 2019. management also expects outperformance in the Asia Pacific region on both bases.
The estate agent added it has started to see the anticipated levels of recovery in Continental Europe and the Middle East and North America, although the latter regions have yet to return to 2019 levels of activity.
Savills Investment Management has performed “somewhat ahead of expectations”.
“In summary, strong trading conditions in a number of our businesses and largely non-recurring cost savings indicate that subject to the impact of further COVID related lockdowns and the pace of transaction execution in this final quarter, the group is likely to achieve overall profits materially ahead of 2019 for the current year, before a resumption of more normalised trading and cost dynamics in 2022,” the company’s trading statement concluded.
Shares in Savills were up 1.3% at 1,439p in mid-morning trading.