The passage of the Renters Rights Bill into law, expected this spring, presents an opportunity for letting agents to win more business, a leading agency group claims.
The Property Franchise Group, which operates 15 brands and relies heavily on lettings for revenue, has told shareholders: “We anticipate the lettings business to continue to grow in 2025, with the upcoming Renters Reform Bill expected to provide an additional opportunity for the Group, given the tough compliance requirements, to convert more landlords to the managed property model.”
In a trading statement, TPFG says its lettings income has increased 8% over the past year to £10.7m – substantially ahead of its sales income which, despite a 15% annual hike, only hit £7.2m.
TPFG says 2024 has been “a transformational year” thanks to the merger with Belvoir Group and the acquisition of GPEA Limited, which operates the Guild of Property Professionals and the Fine & Country brand.
As a result of the Belvoir merger, TPFG now operates across 15 brands, managing a combined 153,000 rental properties, which it says equates to 3% of the UK private rental sector.
The statement says the group’s letting success is down to “the combination of, minimising landlord attrition through strong relationships and market leading technical guidance, increasing the size of the letting book through acquisition and, continuing to see rental prices increasing across the network, particularly outside of London.”
Ewemove, the group’s hybrid brand, saw a further 39 new territories sold during 2024, and total revenue increasing by 17% year on year.
TPFG chief executiveGareth Samples says: “I am immensely proud of what the group achieved in 2024, with the delivery of two major acquisitions, now integrated into the group, as well as strong organic growth. Our success has culminated in yet another record-breaking financial performance which has redefined the scale of our business and set us up for ongoing success.
“FY25 has started with strong momentum and we look forward to the continued synergies from the two transformative deals, with Belvoir and GPEA, and other strategic projects initiated in the year coming to fruition in 2025, unlocking the full potential of the combined Group as it looks to its next phase of growth.”
