Knight Frank turnover up 5% as demand rises for global property Knight Frank LLP (“Knight Frank”), the world’s leading independent property advisor, announced its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2013.
Highlights:
• Group profit before tax up 7% to £102.7m (2012: £95.9m)
• Group turnover up 5% to £350.0m (2012: £333.9m)
• Strong balance sheet with net cash balances at £105.3m (2012: £98.5m)
Alistair Elliott, Knight Frank’s Senior Partner and Group Chairman commented, “I am delighted to report that Knight Frank has increased both profit and turnover year-on-year whilst continuing to invest in the group.”
“We are making great progress towards achieving our goal of being recognised as the advisor of choice in global real estate, best placed to engage with occupiers, investors and private wealth across prime residential and commercial property. I believe the prospects for Knight Frank around the world have never been better and we are determined to drive our business forward.
“There are some extremely encouraging indicators: within the UK our fees per fee earner are the highest of all major firms; our businesses around the world are planning headcount growth of 15% over the next three years; and in line with our global strategy we are on target to secure $1bn turnover across the extended group in 2017.
The breadth of our business is highlighted by recent deals including:
• Sale of 20 Grosvenor Square, London for £258m to an international investment company with Finchatton as project coordinator
• Sale of Winchester House to the Chinese Investment Corporation for £250 million, its first investment in Central London
• Instruction on Estée Lauder’s search for new 100,000 sq ft headquarters in London whilst also having the instruction to sell the home of its founder in the South of France
• Relocation of Barclays Bank to a new 110,000 sq ft head office in Gaborone, Botswana
• Sale of The Gallery Hotel on Singapore’s Robertson Quay for over S$230m to RB Capital
• Relocation of UPS to its new 159,000 sq ft UAE HQ
• Acquisition of Bayer House in Mumbai for Hiranandani Properties Pvt. Ltd.
• Appointment on the facilities management of 1.6m sq ft of Charter Hall’s Office and Industrial portfolio in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, ACT and Tasmania
• We are also proud to have been recognised by our clients and peers highlighted by some of our recent awards, including: Residential Agency Team of the Year 2013 – RICS Hong Kong; International Sales Agency of the Year 2013 – UK RESI; UK Sales Agency of the Year 2013 – UK RESI; National Property Advisor of the Year 2012 – Estates Gazette UK; Residential Property Advisor of the Year 2012 – Estates Gazette UK
“Over the past 12 months we have seen a strong recovery in appetite for commercial and residential assets and our performance has been helped by our unique position in the property world, especially our strong links to corporate, sovereign and private investors. Knight Frank’s Wealth Report revealed that a net balance of 25% of HNWIs across the globe wanted to increase their exposure to property in 2013, and we expect this trend to continue in the years to come."