Another record year for King Sturge
14 November 2007
22.5% increase due to exceptional business line performance across Europe
Top independent property consultant, King Sturge today announced a second record year since converting to a Limited Liability Partnership. Group turnover for the year ending April 2007 climbed to £197.6 million (£160.4 million UK earnings and £37.2 million overseas earnings), up 22.5% on 2006. Consolidated profit was £50.5 million resulting in a distributable profit of £40.6 million, an increase of 33.6% on 2006.
At the end of April 2007, King Sturge was led by 286 partners, including 66 equity partners and employed 1,904 people across Europe. Staff numbers grew by over 11% overall and new offices were opened in Greenwich, Blackheath and Brockley with the acquisition of James Johnston residential estate agents and further offices in Rome, Bucharest, Bratislava and Split, helping to increase overseas turnover by 34%.
Average distributable earnings per equity partner from the firm’s UK partnership business reached £615,000; individually the range was from £270,000 to £2.5 million, while the highest paid salaried member of staff earned over £425,000.
In addition to the strong financial performance, the firm has invested heavily in CSR initiatives and attained 17th position in the Sunday Times’ 100 Best Companies to work for Survey 2007; it was awarded Investment Agency of the Year and European Industrial Agent of the Year by Property Week and UK Industrial Agent of the Year and Property Agent of the Year in the South West by Estates Gazette.
Since the year-end, further European offices have been opened in Berlin, Istanbul and Zaragoza, as well as through the acquisition of Bettisons, a residential estate agent, in Plymouth, taking total staff levels to 2,100 people based in 52 offices across Europe.
Joint senior partner Richard Batten said: "Our strategy has been to grow a broad range of services. Alongside exceptional investment performance our plant and machinery group grew turnover by 39% whilst the professional income was up 42%. In addition, our residential group grew income by 68% and achieved the £17m contribution to turnover that we had targeted."
Fellow senior partner Chris Ireland added: "This year’s financial performance is thanks to the hard work of all our people. We’ve used positive market conditions to strengthen our position throughout Europe. The broad-based, diverse nature of the business provides a great platform to help us through what are likely to be testing financial market conditions. We see market uncertainty as a source of opportunity. We expect the current environment to enable us to achieve our future strategic goals of expanding our European shopping centre, hotel and leisure groups, as well as assisting us in moving further into Central and Eastern Europe."
