Savills announces preliminary financial results for FY2021
Real estate advisory firm says group revenue rose by 23% to £2.15 billion
Savills, the international real estate advisor, has announced its preliminary results for the year ended December 31, 2021, with group revenue up by 23% to £2.15 billion from £1.74 billion posted in 2020.
In addition, the firm said that its underlying profit before tax was up by 107% to £200.3 million. In 2020, the same figure was £96.6 million. Reported profit before tax was up 120% to £183.1 million compared to the previous year’s £83.2 million.
Reported basic earnings per share (‘EPS’) was up 114% to 104.9p. In 2020, the corresponding figure was 49.0p. The company added that an aggregate dividend of 55.4p is to be paid in May 2022, including a one-time special dividend of 27.05p.
Commenting on the results, Mark Ridley, Group Chief Executive, said: “Savills delivered a record performance in 2021 reflecting the significant recovery in both residential and commercial transactional markets supported by growth in our less transactional Investment Management, Property Management and Consultancy businesses.
“The war in Ukraine has shocked the world and, in response, Savills is providing support both through international charities and via our Polish operation, focusing particularly on Ukrainian refugees. Our thoughts are with everyone affected in the region and we can only hope for a peaceful resolution as quickly as possible.
“At this stage it is too early to predict the economic, including longer term inflationary, impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the world’s real estate markets. Subject to this key uncertainty, we would anticipate real estate transaction volumes and discretionary spend to normalise in the year ahead, alongside the continued recovery of global markets as they emerge from pandemic-related disruptions,” he continued.
“The Group has started 2022 in line with our expectations and the strength of our balance sheet supports our growth strategy to pursue further complementary acquisitions and significant recruitment across our global business,” Ridley said.
2020’s strategy of maintaining full operating strength and high levels of client service positioned the Group well for the progressive recovery in 2021, the company statement said.
Transactional Advisory revenues were up by 34% in recovering markets, while Commercial Transaction revenue increased 35% overall with strong growth in the UK and Asia Pacific. Residential Transaction revenue was up 31% it added.
Less transactional businesses, in aggregate 58% of Group revenue, continue to perform well with revenue up 17%. Property and Facilities Management revenue rose by 9%, and Consultancy revenue increased by 24%, Savills’ statement said.
In addition, Savills Investment Management revenue was up, driven by base management fees growth of 30%. Assets under Management (‘AUM’) increased by 22% at €25.8 billion.
The Group also entered a significant strategic partnership between Savills Investment Management and Samsung Life Insurance (‘SLI’) to accelerate the future growth of the Savills Investment Management business.
There was also continued investment in people, technology leadership and innovation in sustainability, including the launch of Savills Earth consultancy services, the company said.
Steven Morgan, CEO Middle East, Savills added: “We are proud to have achieved record performance in a year when many of the countries we operate in globally are still retuning to some semblance of normality. Our Middle East business grew significantly with revenue growth in all seven of our regional offices, most notably in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
“With collaboration from our European and Asia Pacific teams, we have been able to take a global approach to advisory services and are working on some of the region’s most ambitious projects. We are encouraged by the growth we have seen so far this year, which will be aided further by the opening of new regional offices,” he concluded.
