28th Apr 2016 07:29
LONDON (Alliance News) - LSL Property Services PLC on Thursday noted a jump in revenue in March, ahead of the introduction of new stamp duty charges on April 1, but cautioned the market will soften again in the second quarter.
The residential property services company said it has traded well in the year to date, with revenue for the three months ended March 31 up 17% year-on-year, reflecting the accelerating buy-to-let market activity ahead of the introduction of a 3.0% stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let investments and second homes which came into force in the UK on April 1.
LSL Property said this sped up considerably in March from February, with group revenue in the two months to February up 13% year-on-year.
LSL Property said this came after market volumes in the first two months of 2016, as measured by the Bank of England, increased "significantly" compared to the same period in 2015, whilst the total number of mortgage approvals rose 21% on the previous year.
LSL Property said it expects the acceleration of market activity in the first quarter will soften in the second quarter and said it has already seen this trend in its April trading. LSL Property also noted that there will be caution among both buyers and sellers in the run up to the UK referendum on EU membership, but said the outlook for the year continues to be in line with its expectations.
Shares in LSL Property were untraded on Thursday, having last traded at 290.50 pence.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
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