Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Property Industry Eye. Read the original article for full details.
Winkworth warns full-year profits will fall materially below expectations
Winkworth has reported higher lettings income but weaker sales revenue for the first half of 2026, as tougher market conditions weighed on its franchise network. The company now expects full-year pre-tax profit to be "materially below" market expectations.
Lettings up, sales down
Network revenue fell 1% to £31.6m in the six months to 30 June, compared with £32m in the same period last year. Sales revenue dropped 5% from £16.9m to £16.1m, while lettings revenue rose 3% to £15.5m from £15.1m in H1 2025. As a result, sales accounted for 51% of total network revenue, down from 53% a year earlier.
Legal costs weigh on profit
Revenue at M Winkworth Plc itself fell 10% to £4.7m, from £5.2m last year, a decline the company attributed largely to the winding down of DCI and the deconsolidation of Crystal Palace. Pre-tax profit fell 5% to £780,000, compared with £830,000 in H1 2025, a figure that includes £110,000 of exceptional legal costs incurred during the period.
Winkworth said underlying profit before exceptional costs should finish slightly ahead of market expectations. However, ongoing legal and advisory costs are expected to weigh heavily on the reported result, prompting the warning that full-year pre-tax profit will be materially below market expectations.
Stronger cash position
Cash generation improved during the first half, with net cash generated from operating activities increasing 39% to £1.33m, up from £960,000. Winkworth ended June with £3.73m in cash and no bank debt, compared with £3.86m a year earlier.
Network changes
The Winkworth network recorded a net increase of one office during the period. Four new branches opened in Chipping Campden, Shipston on Stour, Stratford-upon-Avon and Wellesbourne, while offices in Dartmouth, Milford on Sea and Paddington closed. The network ended the first half with 104 offices across the UK.
Its majority-owned offices generated £1.16m of revenue and recorded a £10,000 loss before tax, compared with revenue of £1.67m and an £80,000 pre-tax profit in the same period last year. The company declared ordinary dividends of 6.6p per share, unchanged from H1 2025.
What the chief executive said
Dominic Agace, chief executive of Winkworth, said: "After a very strong H1 in sales in 2025, our year-on-year performance in H1 2026 against a more challenging background was robust."
He added: "While the path of interest rates in the UK, more than ever a key determinant for the property market, is hard to read, we remain confident of our position and the further outperformance of our franchisees."
Source: Property Industry Eye