Winkworth has just issued a trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2025.
The estate agency franchise, which expects to announce its audited final results for 2025 on, or around, 15 April 2026, reports that trading conditions softened more than expected in the second half of last year.
This reflected a broader slowdown in market activity ahead of the Autumn Budget, when a number of transactions were deferred. As a result, Company revenues in H2 2025 were broadly in line with the comparative period of H2 2024.
Certain costs were incurred during the year, including one-off administrative costs and a planned increase in marketing spend in prime central London, most of which were highlighted at the time of the H1 FY25 results, when pre-tax profits fell by 19% on H1 2024. These were largely one-off costs that are not expected to recur in future periods.
As a result of the above and the factors detailed below, Winkworth’s FY25 adjusted pre-tax profits, subject to audit, are expected to be, approximately £2.1m (2024: £2.35m), 20% below current market expectations, with net cash at year end to be at least £3.9m (2024: £4.1m).
Notwithstanding that activity levels were temporarily impacted ahead of the Autumn Budget, the measures ultimately announced did not materially alter the underlying supply and demand dynamics in the Company’s markets. With mortgage rates expected to ease further during 2026, the Board has been encouraged by strong levels of enquiry reported across the network so far in January 2026 and anticipates that deferred transactions will progress as confidence improves.
During the year, the company continued to actively manage and strengthen its franchise portfolio. The offices in which it owned an equity stake underperformed budget expectations during the year. Management changes have subsequently been made and the Board expects trading to improve in 2026.
At Crystal Palace, turnover increased significantly following the Company taking back the franchise in 2020; however, profitability did not reach budgeted expectations during 2025. In line with the Company’s stated strategy of recycling capital via equity office investment, Winkworth sold its stake in the office in December 2025 to a neighbouring Winkworth franchisee, and the office is trading successfully with strong forecast revenues expected to benefit the Company during 2026.
Elsewhere, the Company continued to provide loans to selected franchise operators, with the expectation that this will support future revenue growth and market share gains. In total, four new offices were opened during 2025 and seven offices were resold to new franchisees. The Company enters 2026 with a healthy pipeline of further opportunities.
Dominic Agace, CEO of Winkworth, commented: “Despite a temporary slowdown in activity towards the end of the year, Winkworth has continued to invest in its franchise network and has increased dividends to shareholders. Early enquiry levels in 2026 have been encouraging, and with the outlook for mortgage rates improving, we believe the business is well positioned for the year ahead.”
Dividend Declaration
The directors of Winkworth have announced that the company will pay an ordinary dividend of 3.3p per share for the fourth quarter of 2025 (2024: 3.3p per share), bringing the total ordinary dividend payments declared for 2025 to 13.2p per share (2024: 12.3p per share) an increase of 7.3%.
The timetable for the payment of the ordinary dividend is as follows:
Ex-Dividend Date * | 22/01/26 |
Record Date ** | 23/01/26 |
Expected Payment Date | 19/02/26 |
ISIN | GB00B4TT7L53 |
GB00B4TT7L53 | WINK |
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